Kazoku
by ReySolo
Summary: Fic complete--omake added. Ten years after the Eve Wars, Heero and Duo face a new threat… (1+2) Coauthored by Tori Sakana.
1. In which the situation is set up

Summary: Ten years after the Eve Wars, Heero and Duo face a new threat…

Pairings: 1+2, implied 3+4 and 5+S

Disclaimer: No G-boys under the Christmas tree this year. Dangit. :(

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Chapter 1 (In which the situation is set up)  
~~~~~~~~

Alarms were blaring. Guards raced to block the exit. "STOP!" a voice commanded.

A seven-year-old boy turned around slowly, a terrified expression on his face. "Wh-what did I do?"

The two security guards near the department store looked down at the boy with innocent blue eyes and a short brown ponytail under a black baseball cap. "Son, did you try to take something out of the store without paying for it?" the taller guard asked gently.

"N-no…" he protested. "Stealing is wrong."

The guards exchanged glances, then the shorter one asked, "Where are your parents?"

Just then a man with a long brown braid and flashing violet eyes stormed over, followed by a girl with a short red braid and matching violet eyes, obviously his daughter. "Exactly what are you accusing my son of?" the man demanded. The look in his eyes promised certain death if the answer was not deemed satisfactory.

"We—er—the alarms—" the taller guard stuttered.

"Ventuno, did you steal something?" the man asked his son, as if the question were merely to show the guards his trustworthiness.

"No, Dad," the son answered innocently.

So flustered by the man's wrath, neither guard noticed the man nudging his daughter, the girl going around to the boy's back, the boy handing her a watch, or her moving and placing it on a rack nearby.

The man turned back to the guards. "Are you going to accuse my son of lying to his own father, as well?"

The taller guard gathered up all his courage. "I'm—I'm sorry, sir, but store policy requires that we search anyone who triggers the alarm system."

The man's eyes flashed in anger again, but after a pause, he nodded. "Ven?"

The boy swallowed, holding his arms out slightly as if unsure what to do. His eyes were slightly tearing.

The guards searched him as well as they could without actually touching the boy, for fear of retribution from the father. After a very short glance-over, the shorter one stated, "Okay, he—didn't take anything. We're very sorry, sir. It's just—."

"Store policy," the man finished coldly. "Perhaps someone else was in the process of shoplifting just before my son came by, and that person has now escaped due to your own faulty assumptions. You have also lost a customer, as I will not return to a store which treats my children with such disrespect."

The guards swallowed and nodded, moving off as quickly as they could.

~~~~~~~~

Duo Maxwell walked through the mall, his oldest son Ventuno walking on one side of him holding his hand, his daughter Juuni on the other side holding his braid. He looked at his son. "Ven…" he began.

Ven looked up, a penitent expression on his face. "I know, I know, I shouldn't have gotten caught."

Duo nodded. "Remember, by your eighth birthday I'll expect you to get out of those messes by yourself."

Ven nodded solemnly.

Duo grinned, shedding the disciplining-father image he disliked so much. "But it's okay. I don't get to practice my Shinigami-mode nearly enough."

Juuni giggled. "Did you see the looks on their faces? If they were afraid of you, think how they'd feel if they met _Tousan_ in a bad mood!"

Glancing at her with an indignant expression, Duo asked, "You really think Tousan can be more threatening than I can?"

Ven snorted. "With his death glare? Oh, yeah."

Duo shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He grinned. "Anyway, at least now we don't have to return anything to that store. I think that's enough practice for today, okay, Ven?"

"Sure. I can just practice on Juuni once we get home," Ven smirked.

"Hey! Dad, don't let him take my stuff!!" Juuni cried.

"Juuni, he will return it," Duo assured her.

She shook her head violently. "Nuh-uh, he ate that one candy bar I had two weeks ago!!"

"That's just 'cuz you never said it was missing and I forgot it wasn't mine!" Ven defended himself.

Duo sighed and shook his head, but the smile hadn't left his face. "Okay, kids," he interrupted, "We still have to buy a few more things, then we'll grab something to eat and head home, okay?"

"Okay!" they chorused. 

~~~~~~~~

"Dad, I'm _hungry_!!" a little voice whined.

"I told you, Ven, we'll go to the food court once your sister is done trying on that outfit," Duo reminded his son.

"But she's a _girl_, she's taking _forever_..." Ventuno, while the oldest of Duo's and Heero's three children, was still only seven, and therefore not quite old enough to have acquired any patience whatsoever.

"I'm sure she'll be done soon," Duo assured him. Secretly he agreed that Juuni had been in there for quite a while. At this point Duo was wishing he'd accepted Hilde's offer to come shopping with them. The problem was that Hilde had suggested she come to help Duo's only daughter get "feminine" things, and Juuni, after living in a house with four males, flat out refused to get anything "girly." Besides, she had insisted that since she was five '_and a half'_ she could go by herself. Duo had accepted this, not realizing the difficulties he would have involving the changing rooms. At least their youngest son, Sifir, was at home with Heero. Duo was having enough trouble with only two... Sighing, he called in, "June-bug, you okay in there?"

Silence.

"Juuni?"

"I'll go check on her!" Ventuno raced off into the changing room before Duo could grab him.

"Ventuno Yuy-Maxwell, you get back out here this instant!"

After a moment, Ven wandered back out, looking up at his father innocently. "She's not in there."

Duo sweatdropped. "What?"

"There's nobody in any of those rooms."

Duo stared at his son, trying to determine whether he was telling the truth or protecting his sister.

Ven sighed. "You don't believe me, do you, Dad? She may run and hide, but I never lie."

Duo fought to keep a straight face upon hearing that familiar line altered slightly. The hint of a smile on his lips vanished as he realized he had no idea where his daughter was in a huge mall. Heero was going to kill him. "I believe you, Ven. Now come on, we have to find your sister. Um... I'm going to go check in there and see if she left the clothes in there or if she's still wearing them or what. You said there's no one in there, right?"

Ven nodded.

"Okay, you stay out here and see if she shows up."

"Mission accepted," Ven replied calmly.

Duo looked at his son strangely. "Um... right. I'll be right back. And don't take anything!"

He went into the woman's changing rooms quickly, looked inside each individual room, and found nothing. As he was rushing back out, he ran into a tall blonde lady carrying several bras. Duo cringed as the undergarments went flying, and the woman's face turned bright red. "Pervert!!" she screamed, smacking him upside the head with her very large purse. Mumbling apologies, Duo practically flew out of the changing area...

...to find Juuni and Ventuno standing there laughing hysterically at him. "Dad is a pervert!" they shouted in unison, and burst into another fit of giggles.

Duo tried to glare at the two, but the sight of brother and sister laughing so hard they had to hold onto each other to remain standing was just too adorable, so he gave up and joined in on the laughter. 

~~~~~~~~

Heero sat at his computer typing while half-listening to the quiet sounds of Sifir playing on the floor beside him. Realizing that the room was getting dark, he glanced at the clock. It was after six; where were Duo, Ventuno, and Juuni?

Just as he started to ponder why they were so late, the front door opened, and the quiet was shattered. The three missing members of the family burst in. Ven entered first, followed by Duo with Juuni perched on his shoulders. Several full shopping bags were dropped on the floor as Duo half-galloped into the house.

"Giddy up, horsey!" she cried. Suddenly she got an idea and grabbed Duo's braid. Yanking hard on it, she yelled, "Whoa!!"

"OW!" Duo shouted, and Juuni let go in surprise. "Ow, June-bug, please don't do that. You know how you feel when Ven pulls your braid."

"Sorry, Daddy," she said in a small voice.

"It's okay, baby," he replied.

"I wanna go on the horsey," Ventuno exclaimed, pulling on Juuni's leg. "Can I, huh, Dad?"

"No, me!" Juuni cried, kicking her leg so Ven would let go.

Since watching them enter, Heero had turned back to his laptop, pretending to completely ignore them. The kids' antics, however, were starting to get to him. He felt the corner of his mouth move up into a smirk. He hoped Duo was too preoccupied with remaining standing to notice.

He wasn't. "I saw that, Hee-chan! You think this is funny, huh?"

Heero completely lost all expression and attempted to focus entirely on the screen before him.

Duo wasn't going to let him off that easily. "Okay, kids, horsey is tired," he said, moving over to the couch to let Juuni down. "Go play with Tousan now, he's been relaxing here all day while we were out working."

Juuni and Ventuno raced over to Heero, Ven plopping into Heero's lap, and Juuni moving to play with the keyboard of the computer.

Heero finally looked up and gave Duo a death glare.

Duo searched for an excuse. "I have to... um..." He glanced over at Sifir playing quietly in the corner. "I'll give Sifir a bath?"

Heero raised his eyebrows and shrugged, turning back to stop Juuni from messing with his computer too much. "Juuni! No messing with my hacking files! Stop that right now."

Duo smirked, then turned to their four-year-old son. "Come on, Sifir, time for a bath..."

Sifir looked up at Duo with an expressionless face. "No," he stated calmly, then turned back to playing.

"Sifir! Remember, you aren't supposed to..." he trailed off as he noticed what the kid was working on. "Um, Heero, did you see what Sifir is building?"

Heero glanced over, while trying to hold Juuni's hands away from the keyboard and keep Ven from bouncing on his lap too much. "It's a Gundam," he stated.

"Yeah, um, where did he get the—?" Suddenly a red laser beam shot out from the model Gundam's arm and vaporized a nearby toy truck. Duo's jaw dropped, and his eyes widened to the size of melons. Out of pure reflex he snatched the small mobile suit from his son's hands.

Sifir looked up and glared at Duo.

Duo swallowed. "Hee—Heero? Why have you been teaching our son your death glare?"

Heero didn't reply; he was busy once again trying to save his work from Juuni.

Duo smiled uneasily at his youngest son. "Um, how about we go give you a bath now?"

Sifir continued to give Duo a death glare. "No."

"JUUNI! You do NOT type 'Hello, my name is Juuni Yuy-Maxwell' into the computer system I'm hacking into!!" Heero's no-longer-calm voice burst out. After a moment of frenzied typing, Heero turned to look at Duo, a question in his eyes.

"Trade?" Duo asked.

"Trade," Heero stated, gesturing for Ven to get off his lap so he could stand.

"Come on, kids, want to play that new Pokemon video game we got today?" Duo asked Ven and Juuni, after placing the apparently functional Gundam on a high shelf so the kids couldn't reach it.

"Yeah!" they shouted, racing into the TV room. Duo started going through the shopping bags to find the game.

Heero walked over to Sifir. "Bath. Now."

Sifir met his father's gaze, and nodded. "Mission accepted," he stated grudgingly, and moved toward the bathroom.

Before following, Heero caught Duo's eye and raised his eyebrows, silently bragging, '_That was easy.'_

Duo maturely replied by sticking out his tongue, then headed toward the other room.

Heero smirked and followed Sifir into the bathroom. 

~~~~~~~~

Heero bathed Sifir rather quickly, then put him to bed. He peeked in at the others playing video games, hearing Juuni insist on "just one more game!" Figuring Duo had the situation in hand, he returned to his laptop to continue his work.

He was so absorbed in it that he didn't realize how much time had passed until he peripherally saw Duo enter the room and lean against the wall. "They asleep already?" he asked, still typing.

Duo sighed. "Yeah. At least shopping took as much out of them as it did me."

Heero finally stopped and looked up. "Tired?"

Nodding, Duo yawned, "I think I'm going to head to bed now."

Closing the laptop, Heero asked, "Alone?"

Duo stood up straighter, a smile forming on his lips. "Well, I'm not _that_ tired… And the kids _are_ asleep earlier than usual..."

Heero nodded, walking past his love into their bedroom.

Duo grinned and followed. 

~~~~~~~~

"Heero Yuy. Former Gundam pilot 01. Also known as The Perfect Soldier." A picture was projected onto the screen, depicting a young man with messy brown hair and glaring blue eyes.

"Duo Maxwell. Former Gundam pilot 02. Also known as Shinigami." Another projection, displaying a young man with chestnut hair in a long braid and deep violet eyes.

"Sifir Yuy-Maxwell. Four-year-old biological son of Perfect Soldier and Shinigami." A third picture, showing a young child with messy brown hair similar to that of the first image, and penetrating brown eyes.

The speaker paused in her presentation. As she'd expected, a hand went up. She nodded, giving the man permission to speak.

"Biological son?" He seemed to be attempting to keep the disbelief out of his voice, but it wasn't working. "Yuy and Maxwell are…" he trailed off.

The speaker nodded, and explained without condescension, "Both male, yes. The answer to your question is genetic engineering. The two have had three children created in a lab from their own DNA and carried to term by a female volunteer. The science behind the procedure is not important to this mission; the pertinent information is that the child is indeed their biological son."

The man nodded and gestured for her to continue.

"We have been observing this family for some time, mainly by following records: health records, financial records, et cetera. The older two children…" She hit a button to move to the next slide, which showed an older boy and a girl, both vaguely resembling their parents. "…Ventuno and Juuni, did not seem to quite fit the profile of our plans. However, the youngest, Sifir, shows some promise. Your mission is to acquire the boy, as well as one or two of the others to use as motivation for him to obey us. Do keep in mind, however, that the parents _were_ Gundam pilots. It will not be easy to abduct even one of their children, nor will it be simple to keep one of them under control. Be very cautious."

The small group of men nodded solemnly, and she felt reasonably certain they would heed her warning.

Soon they would have a perfect weapon in their hands.

~~~~~~~~  
TBC  
~~~~~~~~

Authors' Notes:

~Kid's Names: Ventuno is Italian for 21, Juuni is Japanese for 12, and Sifir is Arabic for 0

~For those of you curious about how Ventuno, Juuni, and Sifir look, here are some lovely pictures of Heero and Duo's kids, drawn by Tori:  
http://reyzone.ramen43.com/fic/kazoku/kazokuphotos.htm

~First we were unsure of how the kids would differentiate between their two fathers. Then I realized—Duo is American. Heero is Japanese. Duo=Dad, Heero=Tousan. Problem solved. (Upon reading other kid fics, I find my idea is not entirely unique. However, I promise I did not steal the idea; I came up with it myself, so I'm using it.)

~Japanese phrases used may or may not be accurate, acquired from Tori who has never taken an official Japanese language course.

~Chapter titles' format shamelessly stolen from sf, a wonderful Saiyuki author.

~We promise this isn't just about their kids. Heero and Duo _are_ main characters in this story, as well. Please, give us a chance! :) And pretty please, review if you like it!


	2. In which stuff starts to happen

Thanks to LaiN for reviewing! Here's chapter 2 for you! :)

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Chapter 2 (In which stuff starts to happen)  
~~~~~~~~

Juuni sat on the swing, moving slowly back and forth, her pumping legs lending practically no speed to her motion. "I need a push!"

"Me, too!" Ventuno yelled, though his swing was moving rather rapidly compared to his sister's.

Duo moved forward, but Juuni protested, "No, _Tousan_! He gives better pushes!"

Duo quirked an eyebrow up at Heero, who looked back smugly and moved behind Juuni. Duo smiled as Heero easily sent the chains on the swing to almost parallel to the ground and Juuni squealed with delight. He then moved toward Sifir, who was sitting a few feet away playing in the sand. He was building a sand castle... no, a sand base? With full armory?

Suddenly Sifir stopped. He stood and reached up to pull on Duo's shirt. He looked at his dad expectantly.

"What?" Duo asked.

Sifir just kept looking up at him.

"What is it, Sifir?" Duo asked, getting impatient.

"He has to go to the bathroom," Heero called, now giving Ventuno a push.

Duo looked up at Heero, dumbfounded. "How do you _do_ that?"

Heero just grunted.

Sifir pulled on Duo's shirt again, and Duo nodded. "Okay, Sifir, I'll take you. Heero, I'll be right back..."

Heero nodded, still giving the older two children enough momentum to fly high into the air. 

~~~~~~~~

"Dad, who are those men?" Sifir asked as they were walking back out toward the park.

Duo looked at his son. "What men?"

"The men that have been following us," he replied matter-of-factly.

Duo turned his head slightly, trying not to look like he was looking around. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed three men coming up toward them. There was something in their bearing that seemed… dangerous. "Sifir," he said quietly, "When I say the word, run back to Tousan as fast as you can. I'll follow when I can."  
  
Sifir looked slightly hesitant, but stated calmly, "Mission accepted."

Nodding, Duo waited for a few seconds, then commanded, "Now." As his son took off toward the park, Duo ran in the opposite direction. Looking back, he swore as he realized the men were still heading after Sifir, not chasing him as he'd hoped. He turned and raced to protect his son.

Unfortunately, the men were faster. He saw two grab Sifir, while the other looked in his direction and nodded. His forehead wrinkled in confusion. Suddenly realization dawned, and he turned around—just in time to see a tree branch heading right for his head.

Then he saw nothing.

~~~~~~~~

"Haven't Dad and Sifir been gone a while?" Juuni asked.

Heero looked at her, realizing she was correct. Where _were_ they?

"I'll go check!" she shouted, and ran in the direction of the bathrooms.

Ven continued swinging, but called after her, "Baka! You can't go in the boys' room!"

Heero turned back to him. "Ven, don't call your sister a baka."

"Well, she is one," he retorted.

Heero sighed, then looked in the direction the rest in which of his family had disappeared. Juuni had raced beyond the corner of the building by now. 

~~~~~~~~

Juuni turned the corner just in time to see her father collapse to the ground, a small trail of blood flowing down the side of his face. A muscular man stood over him with a large branch, apparently making sure he was indeed incapacitated. To the side, two men were holding a struggling Sifir, dragging him toward a blue van waiting nearby.

Eyes wide, Juuni opened her mouth to scream, but was prevented from doing so by a hand that closed over her lips. At the same time, strong arms lifted her up and began carrying her toward the van.

Juuni did what came naturally: bit down, hard. Unfortunately, the hand merely jerked a bit and remained in place. She continued to gnaw on the flesh, but the grip remained solid.

She kicked out her legs, but could not manage to free herself. She was forced into the van behind Sifir, her mouth still covered until her dad was hauled in and the doors were all shut.

At this point screaming would probably do nothing. She screamed anyway.

As the four men and their captives sped away, Juuni's piercing scream echoed through the van. "TOUSAN!!!!!!!!"

~~~~~~~~

"Juuni?" Heero called into the empty bathrooms, feeling uneasy. "Duo? Sifir?"

"Dad?" Ven added his call.

Silence was their only answer.

"Tousan, where did they go?"

Heero looked around the empty restroom. "I don't know, Ven." He spotted something on the grass outside and walked over to it. Blood. "Kuso." [1]

"What does that mean?" Ven hadn't heard his tousan say that Japanese word before.

Heero looked up at his oldest son, a dark look in his eyes. His soldier's instinct told him what had happened. "They've been kidnapped."

~~~~~~~~

As Juuni opened her mouth to begin screaming again, the man in the seat beside her turned and glared at her silently, the threat clear. Though the glare did not in any way compare to her tousan's, she closed her mouth. Her throat was starting to hurt, anyway.

She turned to look at her brother and father. Sifir was glaring daggers into the back of the driver's seat, at the man who had knocked out their dad. Her father himself was still lying unconscious on the floor of the van, the blood on his head mostly dried. Glancing worriedly down at him, she demanded, "Why did you kidnap us? Why did you hurt my dad? Are you going to take care of his head or what? He's probably got a conc-conch-cushion-that bad thing you get when you've been hit on the head. Don't you have a first aid kit in here somewhere?" She didn't care if their captors got mad at her, she wanted her dad to wake up.

The man in back with Sifir sighed. "This kid is so annoying…"

_Annoying?_ Juuni thought. _I can be annoying. You think that was annoying, you ain't seen nothing yet…_ Maybe she could annoy their kidnappers into letting them go. "Where are we _going_? Are we _there _yet?" She whined, drawing out words as long as irritatingly possible. "Huh? Are we? When are we gonna _get _there? I'm _hun_gry…" She glanced back at Sifir, who was still glaring at the seatback, but she thought she could detect the hint of a smile on his lips. He found this amusing. Good, well, she had more of a show for him, and for their captors. _ Now let's see, what else besides whining does Dad use to annoy Tousan into getting off his computer? Oh, yeah, that one always works… Well, if you call Dad stopping because Tousan smacks him "working"… It's worth a shot._ She began to sing.

"Ninety-nine bottles of pop on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of pop, take one down, pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of pop on the wall. Ninety-eight bottles of pop on the wall…"

The man in back groaned. "Shut up, kid!"

"…Ninety-eight bottles of pop, take one down, pass it around, ninety-seven bottles of pop on the wall…" she continued cheerfully.

The man was starting to lose it. "Please, can I just shut her up now? We have the kids' father, won't he be enough to convince the boy to cooperate?" He pulled out a handgun and cocked it.

Juuni noticed Sifir's expression had lost its amused look. He glanced to his sister, trying to convey a message, then turned his glare on the man beside him.

She realized her brother wanted her to stop, that it was probably very risky to continue, but something inside her just wanted to hurt these mean guys, and her only way of doing so at this point was annoying the heck out of them. "…Ninety-seven bottles of pop on the wall, ninety-seven bottles of pop…"

"Please?" the man in back begged.

"_No_." The man in the front passenger seat spoke for the first time. "It's bad enough we kidnapped an ex-Gundam pilot and two of their kids. You think any of us will survive if we kill their daughter?"

Juuni smiled, liking that logic. "…Take one down, pass it around…"

The man beside her sighed and pulled out a gag, wrapping it around her mouth. Then, realizing she'd just pull it off, he wrapped another piece of cloth around her wrists. She glared at him.

"_Thank_ you," the man in back proclaimed in relief.

Juuni took in a deep breath through her nose, and began to hum through the cloth, starting where she'd left off. This time was louder and more irritating to make up for the gag. "…Hhhnng-ngh hnnk ghhngh hn ghhn hn ghh hnnn…"

The man in the passenger seat, who Juuni figured was the leader, sighed. "Fine."

The man in back grinned evilly.

Juuni's eyes widened with fear, but somehow her voice continued to sing/hum against her volition, even as she felt the cold of the gun muzzle against her head.

"No," the leader commanded. "We can get rid of her, but we're _not_ going to kill her. Stop the van," he told the driver.

The van pulled to the side of the road. Juuni looked out the window, realizing they were in the middle of nowhere. What was she supposed to do when they let her out? And she hadn't even been watching the route like she should have; she'd been too busy annoying the kidnappers. What would she do?

"This way we don't face the wrath of having killed her, but she won't be able to do anything to stop us, or help them find us," the leader explained, gesturing for the man next to her to shove her out of the van.

_Help find them_, Juuni thought, remembering something. She'd made a neat little transmitter thing from an old radio her dad had found for her, and it was in her pocket. If she could only manage to drop it in the van without them noticing…

"Out, you little brat," the man in back ordered, as the man beside her opened the door and yanked her out.

Juuni worked the tiny device out of her pocket just in time to drop it onto the van floor. Just as the door was being shut, she caught Sifir's eyes. It terrified her as she saw a hint of fear in the usually emotionless eyes of her little brother. Fear for who: himself, her, or Dad?

As the van sped off, she thought after him, _Take care of Dad—and yourself_.

~~~~~~~~  
TBC  
~~~~~~~~

Footnote:

[1] "Kuso" = "Shit." (Tori note: Tee hee. Hee-chan cursed.)

Co-author Rant: Hi everybody! It's Tori, your friendly neglected co-author! Rey stepped out of the room for a minute, so I've stolen the keyboard for my own nefarious purposes. Muwahaha! I hope anyone reading is enjoying our lil story so far, and believe me it gets better later on! So keep checking for updates! And go look at the pretty pictures I drew! The kids are sooo cute! I want a little Sifir to cuddle. *pouts* Anyhoo, Happy Wednesday! Ja ne!


	3. In which Duo is childish and Sifir is no...

Kazoku 

Thanks to sparda219 for reviewing! We're so glad that you like the kids, and Tori greatly appreciates the feedback on her lovely pictures!

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Chapter 3 (In which Duo is childish and Sifir is not)  
~~~~~~~~

Heero typed madly at his laptop, searching for some clue as to where three members of his family might have been taken, who might have kidnapped them, and why. So far he'd found nothing.

Ventuno, meanwhile, paced the house, occasionally attempting to distract himself by playing shoot-'em-up video games, but it wasn't working. He was their older brother, dang it, he was supposed to protect them! He didn't care that he was only seven years old, he still felt like he should have done something—should be _doing_ something.

Heero aggressively typed a few more keys, then growled, slamming his fist into the desk. That was his last lead, until his sources called or emailed him with more information.

He glared at the phone, as if doing so would scare it into ringing.

It worked. Well, at any rate, the phone rang. Picking it up, he growled, "Yuy."

There was a pause. "T--Tousan?"

"Juuni??" A second after Heero spoke Ven was right at his side, head by the phone to listen to the conversation.

He heard her take a deep breath, then begin, "TherewerethesebadmenandtheyknockedoutDadandkidnappedusandSifirandthey'regonnausehimforsomethingbadbut  
Idon'tknowwhatandthentheysaidIwasannoyingandtheyweregonnakillmebuttheydumpedmeoutinthemiddleofnowhereso  
IhadtowalkreallyreallyfartothisgasstationandgettheguytoletmeusehisphoneandDadandSifirarestillwiththebadmenbutIleft  
thistrackingthingImadethatIwasgonnasurpriseyouwithsowecanfindthembut—"

As she paused to breathe, Heero interrupted, "Wait—what did you say?" He heard her begin to take another deep breath and said, "No—slower. Bad men kidnapped you and Sifir and Dad, and what else?"

Now Ven interrupted before she could speak. "She said Dad was knocked out, the bad men are going to use Sifir for something bad, they found her annoying so they dumped her and she walked to a gas station, and she left a tracking device so hopefully we can find them without too much trouble. Right, Juuni?"

"Uh-huh!"

Heero fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Okay, Juuni, where are you?"

"Um…" She asked the cashier, then repeated the instructions to Heero.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes," he assured her. "Where's the receiver for the transmitter you left?"

"I have it with me." With a note of pride in her voice, she explained, "I made it all by myself, using that old radio Dad got me. It was gonna be a surprise for you and Dad." There was a pause, and she asked more quietly, "They're gonna be okay, right, Tousan?"

Ven glanced at him expectantly.

Heero held his gaze, determination in his eyes. "We _ will _find them." He had never lied to his kids. He was not about to start. Therefore, they would find Duo and Sifir.

He just wondered what condition they would be in once they found them. 

~~~~~~~~

"This is the most cramped cell I've ever been in. And my head hurts; can't I have some painkiller or something? And what's with this room service? You haven't come to feed us once! I'm _hunnnngry_! And what if we have to go to the bathroom? Will you let us out or just make this cell messier than it is?" After awakening in the small cell, Duo had first inspected his son for any injuries, then looked around their cramped surroundings. There was little in the way of décor, but he had noticed a small camera obviously listening to and watching all of their activities. Always one to find the bright side of things, Duo took this as an opportunity to annoy the living daylights out of their captors.

"Tabun nakigoto o yamereba, sansei suru wa motto arisou yo," Sifir said quietly. [1]

Duo looked at his son suspiciously, "What was that?"

"Nakigoto o yamete tte ita; yakamashii n da yo." [2]

"Sifir, you know Tousan hasn't taught me Japanese."

"Wakatte iru." [3]

Duo noticed a familiar smug look on his son's face. _ God, Heero, this kid is mine, too, right? You sure he's not just a clone of you with brown eyes?_ Duo wondered. "Come on, I know you said something about me…" he complained.

"Baka." [4]

"Hey, I _know _that one. You're going to be in trouble once we get out of here," Duo warned.

~~~~~~~~

As Heero pulled the car up outside the gas station, Ventuno jumped out of the car and raced toward Juuni, twirling her around in a giddy hug. "Juuni, you're okay!"

She grinned. "Yeah, what'd you expect? I can walk a few miles by myself; I _am_ five and a half…"

He poked her. "I told you being annoying would get you in trouble some day."

"In trouble?" Juuni asked incredulously. "No, being annoying got me _out_ of trouble! See, _I_ learned useful skills from Dad, _too_!"

After parking the car, Heero approached them, not quite as exuberantly as his son had, but the relief he felt was still obvious. "Juuni, are you all right?"

She nodded, grinning. Soon, the grin vanished, however. "But Dad isn't, he hadn't woken up yet when I last saw him, and he and Sifir are still in trouble. We have to go rescue them!"

Heero looked at her seriously. "_I_ have to go rescue them. You two are going to stay with Hilde until this gets worked out."

Ven and Juuni stared at him in shock, as if the thought had never crossed their minds that he might leave them behind. 

Then, after a moment of silence, both spoke at once: "But, _Tou_san!" Juuni whined as Ven demanded, "Why can't--?"

Heero held up one hand, stopping them from continuing. "You are kids. I know we try to treat you like you are older than you are, but that does not change the fact that you are children. Not only that, you are _ my_ children. I will not jeopardize your safety, especially when two of our family are already missing." He spoke respectfully but firmly.

Juuni stuck out her bottom lip, pouting, but Ven just looked pensive. "But what if we can help? Juuni is the one who thought of the tracking device; it's only fair that she's the one to trace them," he pointed out.

"Yeah!" his sister agreed enthusiastically.

"And Dad hasn't been teaching me thieving skills for nothing," Ven continued. "I could probably get into and out of an enemy base without being noticed, no problem."

Heero raised an eyebrow at his son's cockiness. He must have gotten that from his dad…

Ven hadn't finished. "And you aren't going to go do this alone, and I doubt you're willing to wait the time it would take for Uncle Trowa and Uncle Quatre, and Uncle Wuffie and Aunt Sally, to get back from their vacations. So that doesn't leave many options. Face it, Tousan: You need us." He and Juuni were both standing proudly, backs straight, as if that would be all their tousan needed to agree.

Heero had to admit his son had good reasoning. He wouldn't be surprised if Ven had actually been considering this earlier and had that speech planned. However, the dangers of dragging those two into this still remained. "All right, you can come--for now."

"Yay!" Juuni cried, as Ven grinned in triumph.

"_However_," he continued, a stern look on his face, "You will do exactly as I tell you. When I say wait somewhere, you will wait. When I say run, you will run. No matter what else is going on, you will obey immediately. Understood?"

The two nodded solemnly. 

"Good." Heero headed back to the car. "Now, let's go find your dad and brother."

~~~~~~~~

Finally, the door to the cell opened. A severe-looking woman with dark hair pulled tightly back entered, followed by two guards with guns. She barely glanced at Duo, then met Sifir's eyes.

"Hello, Sifir," she greeted him.

The boy just glared at her.

"You can call me Dr. White. I apologize for any difficulties in your arrival here. I trust your escort treated you properly other than the unfortunate means of transport?"

Sifir remained silent, but Duo was only too eager to answer. "Properly?? They knocked me out and kidnapped us! My head is killing me! And how come we still haven't gotten fed yet?" he demanded indignantly.

Finally the woman turned to meet Duo's eyes. "I am not very concerned with _your_ well-being, Mr. Maxwell. Your injury is not life-threatening. You will receive nourishment twice daily. You will be permitted bathroom privileges three times daily. If you misbehave, meal or bathroom privileges may be taken away."

Duo looked at her incredulously. _She's treating me like I'm four and Sifir like he's an adult. What the hell is going on here, anyway?_ Deciding it couldn't hurt to act a bit more mature, he asked, "Who are you? Why are we here?"

Dr. White raised an eyebrow. "_You_ are here to act as…" She paused, as if searching for the right word—"Motivation."

Realization hit, and both Duo and Dr. White turned to look at Sifir at the same time.

"Sifir, I'd like you to come with me for some tests," the woman commanded, reaching out her hand toward him.

Cold fury flashed in Duo's eyes, and he moved to stand directly in front of his son. 

"You will leave. My son. The Hell. Alone."

She sighed. "We are not going to hurt him," she assured. "We're going to _use_ him. Think of it, the son of the Perfect Soldier and Shinigami... He could really be the perfect weapon."

Duo didn't move. "Over my dead body."

Dr. White shrugged. "Well, if you insist..." One of the guards raised his weapon and aimed it directly at Duo's heart. Duo braced himself for the pain he knew was coming.

"NO!" a young but firm voice came from behind him. Sifir stepped out from behind his father's back. "I'll--I'll help you."

"Sifir!" Duo hissed.

When his youngest son looked up at him, Duo gasped. For the first time in ages, Sifir's eyes were not cold or expressionless. Instead there was a look of fear for Duo and a plea for understanding. The four-year-old turned back toward the woman, the cold glare returning to his face. "If you promise not to hurt my dad, I will help you."

Duo's heart was racing with mixed emotions. For the first time, he knew that Sifir really cared about him; he hadn't even realized that he was so unsure of his own son's feelings. But now, he knew his son worried enough about him to become a weapon for the enemy, and that was _so_ not going to happen.

Simultaneously the doctor reached out again for Sifir's hand, the boy took it, and Duo grabbed his son by the waist. The guards were apparently expecting this; one guard smashed his weapon into Duo's already injured head while the other caught Sifir. Duo fell to the ground with a groan, barely able to lift his head as his son was dragged out of the cell.

Sifir's small whisper of "Dad…" was the last thing Duo heard before he lost consciousness.

~~~~~~~~  
TBC  
~~~~~~~~

Footnotes:

[1] "Tabun nakigoto o yamereba, sansei suru wa motto arisou yo." = "Maybe if you stop whining, they'll be more likely to agree."

[2] "Nakigoto o yamete tte ita; yakamashii n da yo." = "I said stop whining; it's annoying."

[3] "Wakatte iru." = "I know."

[4] I hope everybody out there knows what "baka" means…

Co-author Rant: Whee! I have returned! I wish to apologize to any and all Japanese persons for the heinous grammar in the above footnotes. Me no speaka da English, and me definitely no speaka da Japanese. If it sucks, I'm sorry. And if it's right, then hooray for Tori! And go look at my pictures!


	4. In which Heero has a fluffy flashback

Thanks to sparda219 for reviewing again! Yeah, Heero's not too happy right now...

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Chapter 4 (In which Heero has a fluffy flashback)  
~~~~~~~~

"Right… Left… Right…"

Turning as commanded, Heero clenched his jaw, trying to hide how difficult it was to simply follow Juuni's directions. He did realize this was probably their best plan of action, but he still hated it. He needed to find Duo and Sifir, blow things up, and get them the hell out of there. Not sit here following his daughter's direction to a trail that might end up leading to some radio station in the middle of nowhere.

It wasn't that he lacked faith in his child's abilities. He knew she was very bright and especially well trained for someone her age. After all, she was home schooled by her parents; taught everything from math and history to Japanese and survival training. But she _was_ only five years old. He couldn't expect her to have learned all of Duo's mechanical skills and be able to create a functional tracking device from some old radio, could he?

"Left… Tousan, turn left…"

Heero looked ahead, seeing nothing but forest ahead on both sides of the road.

Ven explained, "He can't turn here, Juuni."

She looked up, seeing the problem. "Oh. Well, we have to go left."

Heero nodded, pulling the car to the side of the road. "Then we walk."

~~~~~~~~

Sifir sat at a desk, staring at the computer before him.

Dr. White explained, "The first test we have for you is rather simple. Since you've been home schooled, we don't have a great deal of information involving your academic progress so far. We also wish to know your level of your computing skills. Are you familiar with the general workings of a computer?"

Sifir nodded.

"What is your reading level?" While she was aware most four-year-olds could read and write little more than their own name, she also knew that this was no ordinary four-year-old. Indeed, had he been, he would not be here ready for testing and, hopefully soon, training.  
  
The boy just looked up at her, a vaguely questioning look on his face.

Inwardly she sighed. While she was grateful that the kid didn't ramble irritatingly like his American father, she knew they would have to get him to speak a bit more, just to enable the training process.

She opened a program on the computer and pointed to the text box. "Can you read this?"

His eyes skimmed over the writing, and he nodded. After a brief moment of silence, he began to read it out loud.

Dr. White was impressed. While she had been reasonably certain he'd be able to comprehend the general ideas of the relatively simple text, she had expected him to at least stumble a bit more over the longer words, or maybe stutter a bit.

"That was very good," she said honestly. "Now, I want you to go through it and follow the instructions. If you have any questions, I'll be right here, but I want you to try to do it yourself first, okay?" _Great, I sound like I'm talking to a two-year-old_, she thought. Since they had decided to go after Yuy and Maxwell's son, she had told herself that the best way to get him to cooperate with them was for them to treat him as an adult. She had been trying so far, but it was hard; the boy was just so little, so young.

His first question after a few minutes further reminded her of his true age. "You're going to leave my dad alone, right? If I help you, you'll let him go?" He turned and looked at her, a look of worry in his previously emotionless face. 

For a moment, Dr. White forgot she was a military scientist training a boy to become a weapon for destruction. "He'll be okay, Sifir," she assured him softly. Suddenly realizing what she was saying, she added, "Assuming you behave properly and do as you're told. If you cooperate, we'll have no reason to harm him. If you refuse, we will have to take proper actions to discipline you. His treatment is up to you, do you understand?"

His face hardened again, and he turned back to the computer screen without another word.

~~~~~~~~

When Duo awoke again, he was alone in the cell. His head still ached, but at this point he had more important things on his mind.

Like what the hell they were doing to Sifir. Where was he? Testing? What was that supposed to mean? All he knew was they were _not_ going to make his son a weapon, and he sure as hell was not going to be the reason his son went along with it.

He hated this. He had to get out of here. But how? He still had a killer headache, and possibly a concussion, from that malicious tree branch. Plus he had to deal with how to find and get Sifir out as well. At least when he'd been captured during the war, he didn't have anyone else's survival depending on him. _This sucks_.

At least he was the one here instead of Heero or one of the other kids. This way, Ven and Juuni were safe, and he knew Heero would find some way to come rescue them. He just hoped Heero would think to bring _ somebody_ as back up. Remembering that Trowa and Quatre were off somewhere celebrating their anniversary and Wufei was with Sally and their kids on vacation, Duo wondered who his partner would get to help find them. He grinned as he imagined Heero trying to leave Juuni and Ven at Hilde's, the two of them complaining vehemently about their being left behind. He was sure the kids would drive their tousan nuts trying to convince him to let them come rescue their dad and brother.

His grin started to fade as he began to realize the seriousness of the situation. Did Heero even know what had happened to them? He supposed the ex-soldier could figure it out when they didn't return for several hours. But how could he find them? These people seemed like professionals; they wouldn't leave behind evidence for an ex-Gundam pilot to find. Duo realized that there was a strong possibility that Heero had no clue where to even start looking for them.

Come to think of it, Duo had no idea where they were, either. In fact, only the feeling that less than a day had passed gave him any evidence that they were even still on Earth.

Duo sighed, getting tired of his morose line of thoughts. Glancing up at the tiny camera, he smiled again. Might as well give his captors an interesting show…

Taking a deep breath, he began to sing, warbling horribly off-key. "This is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend…"

~~~~~~~~

As he followed behind Juuni, Heero pondered where they might be going. It was fairly obvious the kidnappers couldn't have come through this way; there was no way a van could have fit through here, and it would have been quite a challenge to drag two captives through here, especially when one was an unconscious adult. Though if Duo were conscious, Heero mused, it may have been even harder. There was no way his partner would allow himself and their son to be dragged off somewhere without a fight.

So if they hadn't come through this way, they must have entered the forest by some other path, possibly some secret entrance. They been driving for several hours before they began walking, so Heero didn't know the area very well. He supposed there could be a secret area hidden away in the trees somewhere, but why, he couldn't figure out.

The motives behind the kidnapping escaped him. Juuni had said something about using Sifir, but for what? The boy was only four years old! _Granted, he is the intelligent son of two of the best soldiers on Earth and in the colonies_, Heero admitted with a certain level of pride. But he was still only a child… Unless that was why they wanted him…

A chill ran through him as he considered the possibilities. If they needed a highly capable yet well conditioned soldier, the best way to get one was to begin training at a very early age. Remembering his own childhood of training to be a killer, Heero definitely did _not_ want his son to go through that. Their kids were supposed to get the childhood he and Duo had never had. True, they were far from normal children, but they were _not _going to deal with the war and death their parents had experienced so early in life.

These thoughts reminded Heero of a night about eight years earlier…

_The two lovers lay in bed, Duo's head resting on Heero's outstretched arm. "Hee-chan?" the braided boy asked._

_"Hn?" came the reply._

_"You know that couple we saw with the baby in the park today?"_

_Heero tilted his head to look at Duo. Where was this leading? "Yeah."_

_Duo kept his eyes focused on the ceiling, as if afraid to see his partner's response to his next question. "Do you ever wonder what it would be like to have a normal life like that? To have a family?"_

_Heero stiffened. "What do you mean?" Was Duo unhappy living with him? Did he want to leave, to find a woman who could make a loving wife and mother?_

_Sensing his partner's unease, Duo turned to look him in the eye. "Don't worry, Hee-chan, I love you and always will. In fact, I… What would you say to us… having kids of our own?"_

_The question surprised him, though he supposed it shouldn't have. "Adoption?" he asked, trying not to sound like he was agreeing or disagreeing, just wanting more information._

_Duo shook his head, a half-smirk on his face. "Nah, better. I saw this ad that said they've been working on this new technology, that they can create an embryo from the genes of any two people, regardless of their genders. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but I thought… maybe we could…" he trailed off, looking at his love with apprehension._

_Heero was silent for a moment, considering what Duo had suggested. He had never actually thought about having kids; he didn't really consider himself father material. But suddenly the image of little Duos running around causing mischief popped into his head. Strangely, the image gave him a warm, contented feeling inside._

_He also realized they had never mentioned any sort of commitment before. They had been sleeping together for over two years now, and Heero had even admitted to the braided boy that he loved him, but there had been no talk of how long they intended to remain together. If they had kids together, especially in the way Duo was proposing, that would almost certainly mean they would have to stay together for quite a long time, if only to raise the children. The idea of that kind of commitment… wasn't scaring him as much as he'd thought it would._

_Heero realized he had been thinking in silence for a while, and Duo had turned back to face the ceiling. "I mean, I understand if you don't want to. It was just a thought…"_

_"Duo," he interrupted. He didn't continue until his love was looking him in the eye. "The idea sounds… interesting. Look into it, find out what exactly we would have to do."_

_Duo's face burst into a grin. "Thanks, Hee-chan! I will!" He pulled closer to his lover and planted a quick peck on his lips._

_"Just so long as the kids don't interfere too much in our… nightly activities," Heero added, a feral look in his eyes._

_"Well, in case they might, we'll just have to make up for that before it becomes an issue, won't we?" Duo replied, a matching expression full of desire on his own face._

_Their serious talk was temporarily forgotten as they communicated in more primitive ways that night…_

The corner of Heero's lip curved upwards as he remembered that night. He never would have dreamed eight years ago how important this family would become to him.

And now his family was in danger, and he had to save them.

They continued their trek through the forest.

~~~~~~~~  
TBC  
~~~~~~~~

Co-author Rant: Not much to rant about now...cute lil part, yay...Um...Er...Eh...Oh yeah! Please review and go look at the pictures of the kids (if you haven't already). Artists need feedback too. I'm so unloved. *sniff sniff* But begging is beneath me. So I won't beg. But I will cajole, wheedle, and blackmail! Review, or else! C'mon, you know you want to... All right, I'm done. Happy Tuesday everyone!


	5. In which Sifir gets a wellearned cuddle

Thanks once again to our favorite reviewer, sparda219. We love you! :)

Sorry about the longer wait between chapters. We would probably post a lot faster if we got more reviews... ::wink, wink, nudge, nudge::

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Chapter 5 (In which Sifir gets a well-earned cuddle)  
~~~~~~~~

After several hours, the cell door opened, and Sifir walked in, followed by Dr. White. Duo ran his eyes over his son, checking for the tiniest sign of injury. Finding none, he felt a slight sense of relief. He thought he saw a similar look of relief in his son's eyes upon seeing him, as well.

"You did well today, Sifir," the doctor said. "You'll have a few more tests tomorrow, and we should be able to start training soon."  
  
The boy turned around to face her. "So is my behavior based only on punishment, or do I get rewarded for doing well, too?"

She looked impressed. "That depends. What reward did you have in mind?"

Sifir looked at Duo. "I know you're not going to let my dad go, but could you just look at his injury, at least give him something to make it feel better?"

Duo stared at his son. Not only was he solely concerned with his father's well-being, he obviously could also tell that the throbbing headache was still bothering him.

Dr. White gave Sifir a small smile. "I suppose we could manage something," she replied, exiting the room.

Duo warily watched her departure. He didn't trust that woman at all, even after the smile she gave Sifir. Perhaps even because of it. It appeared she was attempting to gain the boy's trust, and Duo knew that, especially at such an early age, trust could be quickly followed by obedience.

He turned to face his son. "What did they make you do?"

Sifir shrugged. "Some easy computer stuff, and basic reading and math and stuff."

Duo knew his son would have done quite well on that; Sifir was gifted even in comparison to his older siblings. He wasn't surprised that Dr. White had seemed impressed by his performance.

"She said the physical stuff is gonna be tomorrow," the boy added.

Stiffening, Duo glared at the door, as if the door itself was responsible for their predicament. Physical stuff. From what Dr. White had told them as yet, he had a fair idea what that was going to involve, and it scared him. He didn't fear that his son wouldn't be able to take it; the boy was stronger than he looked. But what exactly would follow the testing and training… "Sifir, I need you to promise me something."

His son looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"I need you to promise that no matter what, you will not do anything to endanger yourself or any innocents, do you understand? And you will only even _consider_ harming anyone if your own life is at stake."

Sifir stared at him, expressionless. "What about your life?"

Duo sighed, looking at his son seriously. "I can take care of myself. Hey, I was a Gundam pilot, a war hero, remember?"

The boy nodded hesitantly.

"You can go along with what they tell you for now. But if at any point your own life is in danger, don't think about me. Just get yourself out of the situation any way you can."

Sifir looked down at his feet.

"Promise me, Sifir," Duo pleaded.

The boy just shook his head.

"_Promise_ me."

Sifir finally looked up, and Duo was shocked to see tears starting to form in his son's eyes. "Tousan told me never to make a promise that I might not be able to keep!" he burst out.

Duo winced, taking in a shaky breath. "Then plan to keep this one," he said firmly.

His son shook his head. "I can't, Dad." The tears began streaming down his face. "I don't want to lose you!"

His resolve melting at the sight of his son crying, Duo gave up on the subject for now. He got down on his knees and hugged his son tightly. "It's okay, Sifir. It's gonna be okay." He was close to tears himself.

Sifir's arms were wrapped around his father just as tightly. "Don't go anywhere, okay, Dad?"

"I won't," Duo assured his son. "I will do everything in my power to get us both out of here. I promise." He made a vow to himself that he would keep that promise. He would save his son and get them out of here. _Or my name isn't Shinigami_. [1]

**~~~~~~~~**

"The boy is weak."

Dr. White looked up from the screen displaying the activity in the cell, to her superior. "He's a four-year-old boy, who has just been taken against his will, forced to cooperate with complete strangers, and had his father's life threatened. I think crying is well within his rights." Realizing she may have been slightly overstepping her bounds, she added, "Sir."

The tall man with blond crew-cut hair raised an eyebrow. "Starting to become attached to the boy, are you, Doctor? Should I give this assignment to someone else?"

"No," she replied, hating how desperate her voice sounded to her own ears. Continuing more calmly, she continued, "No, he's used to me, I think I've started to earn his trust."

"After one day?" he asked disbelievingly.

"That's one extra day you'll have to spend if you assign him to someone else," she returned.

Her superior shrugged. "You will remain his trainer. For now. But if you continue to become more attached…"  
  
Dr. White nodded. "I understand."

**~~~~~~~~**

Heero could tell Ventuno and Juuni were getting tired. They'd been walking through this forest for over an hour now, following Juuni's directions, and they'd not found a single hint of anyone or anything out of the ordinary. Juuni was walking slower and slower, her eyes getting less focused. Ven was trying to look like he could easily walk for another ten hours, but Heero could tell the exertion and stress were wearing on him as well.

Heero had called for several breaks already, and at this point he was almost ready to call this hunt to a stop entirely. While they had to find Duo and Sifir, this might not be the way to do it. What if this all ended up just being a wild goose chase? He didn't have the heart to tell his daughter her plan wasn't working, however.

He was about to call for another break, when Juuni suddenly stopped. Ven, who'd been walking close behind, almost bumped into her, losing his balance when he pulled to an abrupt halt. "Juuni, don't do that! You could've told me you were gonna stop!" he complained.

"Well, you shouldn't have been so close behind me, anyway!" she snapped back.

Heero sighed. The stress and frustration were definitely making the two more moody than usual. It didn't help that Duo was usually the one to take care of these two. Heero winced as he realized the implications of that thought. They didn't quite play favorites, but he realized he really did spend more time with Sifir than with the other two kids. It was just that Duo was more suited to deal with Juuni and Ven's antics, while he and Sifir had their own kind of rapport.

But now he had to deal with the older two, in order to find Duo and Sifir. That in mind, he turned to his daughter. "Juuni, why did you stop?"

She'd been looking around at the endless trees around them, and turned to her tousan when he spoke. Her eyes looked desperate. "It… it stops here. The signal says they should be right here!" She began to look around more frantically.

Heero felt his heart sink, but he tried to hold onto hope. He saw three possibilities: either there was some sort of underground facility, the signal really had been leading nowhere all along, or the device had been found and discarded somewhere around here. While the first option offered some hope, he found it very unlikely, especially since there was a high probability that being underground would entirely block any transmissions anyway.

Without replying, Heero began to look around the ground, under leaves, behind bushes, to find any indication of either an underground facility or the transmitter itself. Ven had apparently made some of the same conclusions, as he appeared to be doing the same thing. Juuni just looked around desperately, then began pounding on the receiver, trying to get it to tell her something more.

After a few minutes, Ven stood up slowly. "Is this it?" he asked solemnly, holding up a small flat disk.

Juuni took one look at it and burst into tears.

Ven looked stricken, and slowly reached out to put an arm around his sister. Heero watched them, realizing he'd never really had to comfort a crying child before. The last time he'd had to deal with one of them crying was when they were babies, and all that took was getting a bottle or walking them around the house a bit. Since then Duo had dealt with the older kids more, and Sifir just didn't cry.

Juuni took a deep breath and tried to stop crying. "I'm sorry, I'm being such a girl. I shouldn't cry like this, I'm so _weak_."

Ven squeezed her shoulders. "Hey, stop that. You've been spending too much time with Uncle Wuffie."

She laughed, brushing away most of her tears with her sleeve. Looking up at Heero, she asked, "What do we do now, Tousan?"

He put a comforting hand on Juuni's shoulder. "I know this seems like a dead end, but it isn't really. I can't see them going quite that far out of their way to throw us off, so this is probably a lot closer than we were before. We just have to pick up the trail again…" Noticing his daughter starting to lean more weight into her brother's arm, and Ven's stomach making suspicious noises, Heero continued, "But we'll do that tomorrow. We need to get some food and some sleep before we do anything more."

Ven looked ready to argue for a moment, but then a yawn interrupted him, and he nodded in resignation. "So where are we gonna go? We're hours from home."

Heero sighed, thinking for a moment. "We passed a small town not long before stopping to walk. We'll hike back to the car and then hopefully find a motel or something there." He looked at the sky through the trees, grateful that it was summer and it wouldn't be getting too dark before they got back to the car.

"And we'll find them tomorrow?" Juuni asked.

Heero gave her a sad smile. "We'll look for them again tomorrow," he answered, not willing to promise more than that. 

The trio began their journey back to the car.

~~~~~~~~

When the door next opened, a gruff-looking man in a white lab coat entered. "I'm here to look at your head," he said without introduction.

Duo glared at him. "About time."

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "You are here because of that kid," he said bluntly, pointing at Sifir, who stared at him coldly. The doctor was unaffected. "They don't particularly care if you have a little headache."

"Yeah, that's what they tell me," Duo grumbled.

The man roughly looked him over, checking his pupils for dilation, having him answer a few simple questions. When he was done, the doctor announced, "It's not a concussion."

After a moment of silence, Sifir spoke up for the first time. "It still hurts him; can't you give him something to make it feel better?"

The doctor sighed, as if the mere thought of relieving Duo's pain was too much effort on his part. "Yeah, yeah… But only because they need you to cooperate, kid. Remember that."

The boy nodded, glaring at him.

The man pulled out a small bottle of pills. Violet eyes fixed on the bottle, Duo's glare vanishing instantly. His mouth was practically watering at the sight of that salvation from the constant pain.

The doctor opened the bottle and handed him two pills.

Duo was about to drop them down his throat and swallow them dry, when he froze. The glare returned, a suspicious quality in it this time. "How do I know they're pain relievers and not poison or something?"

"If they wanted you dead, they'd have shot you by now." When the braided man still appeared slightly wary, he shrugged, "Look, take them or don't; it's your headache."

That convinced him, and he popped the pills into his mouth and swallowed. As the doctor started to turn toward the door, Duo asked, "What if I need more later?"

"I'll give them to the guards to give you every few hours. They don't want you to have access to the whole bottle at once."

Realizing the implications of that statement, Duo shuddered. _ They think that I'd… that I'd leave Sifir here alone just to stop being used against him? Don't they think I'd realize that would probably traumatize him even more?_ He nodded.

"I'll be back soon with your dinner and some blankets," the doctor stated as he left. Speaking loudly enough for the prisoners to hear, he muttered, "Don't know why they give me these chores. I'm a doctor, not a babysitter…"

Duo's and Sifir's cold glares remained on him until he was out the door. [2]

~~~~~~~~

Heero parked the car in the parking lot of a small motel just as the last remnants of light were vanishing from the sky. They had made it back to the town, then stopped for a quick dinner; now Heero was going to make sure the kids got enough sleep before beginning the search anew.

When they entered the hotel lobby, Juuni was leaning on her brother's arm. Ven himself looked like the only thing keeping him awake was the knowledge that he was his sister's support.

Walking up to the desk, Heero noticed the clerk watching his children intently. He cleared his throat, looking at the man distrustfully.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sir," the clerk apologized. "I just couldn't help but notice how tired your kids look. Had a hard day?"

Heero just glared at the man. "One room, two beds, one night."

The clerk nodded. "Of course, Sir. Can I get your name?"

"No," came the blunt reply. "I'll pay cash in advance. How much?"

The man raised his eyebrows. "Well, we do like to have a name for insurance purposes…"

"John Smith." _They want a name, I'll give them a name._ "How much?"

The clerk looked at him calculatingly, then typed something in on the ancient computer sitting on his desk. "Eighty dollars."

Heero was sure that was more than a cheap motel like this usually charged, but at this point he didn't care. He pulled out his wallet and handed over the specified amount of money.

"Room 106." The clerk handed him a key, and the three weary travelers headed off to their room. "Have a pleasant night, Mr. Smith!"

~~~~~~~~

The instant the three were out of the lobby, the clerk picked up the phone, dialing a number he had memorized. "They just got in," he told the voice that answered. "…Yeah, he had the girl and another kid with him. Do you want me to…? Okay, when do I get paid? … That's not the amount we agreed on! … I know, but… Fine. I'll call again when they leave tomorrow." He hung up the phone.

~~~~~~~~  
TBC  
~~~~~~~~

Footnotes:

[1] Heero: But your name isn't Shinigami…  
Duo: Shut up, it was supposed to be dramatic. Besides, my name isn't exactly "Duo Maxwell," either…  
Heero: Oh. Right.

[2] Originally, there was a different doctor, but he was just being too nice, and since Dr. White was already being nicer than I had intended, Tori and I decided we had to get rid of him. His name was Dr. McKay (if anyone knows that reference, they'll get a gold star—and no, it's not Star Trek... Though I suppose the "I'm a doctor, not a babysitter" was rather McCoy-ish...), and I've determined that he's still a doctor somewhere around the bad guys' facilities, he just doesn't manage to find his way into the story. :)

Co-author Rant: La li ho! It's Tori, your wonderful talented co-author who didn't actually write a single word! Except this rant. It counts. Anyway, I'm working on a new fanart for this fic, but I haven't made any progress because I'm bored and I'm tired and no one loves me. Except our one lone faithful reviewer, to whom I'm going to dedicate the art if I ever get it done. Ah, well. Tis better for a fic to be written and unread than never written at all. I dearly hope. That's it for now. Viszlat! (Excuse the Hungarian. It's Rey's fault.)


	6. In which our heroes find the trail

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Chapter 6 (In which our heroes find the trail)  
~~~~~~~~

Duo awoke after only a couple hours of sleep. He looked around, disoriented for a moment, until he remember where he was. _Shit… _ he thought. _I'd hoped it was just a dream…_

He realized that his head was pounding again. He didn't want to pound on the door to demand more painkillers, though, since that probably would wake Sifir up. The boy would apparently be having quite a busy day tomorrow. Not that today hadn't been stressful enough already…

He turned to look at his son, who lay nuzzled up beside him, and smiled. The boy looked so angelic when he slept. So like his tousan in that respect. Duo wondered if Heero knew how often he just laid awake in bed, watching his lover sleep. Both Heero and Sifir could be so cold and stoic when awake, yet turned into little angels when they fell asleep. Not that the two didn't have their moments of sweetness when awake, but there was just an air of vulnerability about them when they slept that Duo found immensely endearing.

His smile vanished as he remembered his son's obvious display of vulnerability earlier. He could not remember the last time he'd seen Sifir cry—even as a baby, the boy had been unusually quiet. And now, placed in a dangerous situation, he cried… for fear of losing his father.

Duo had no intention of letting that fear become a reality. Resolving to spend tomorrow figuring out some sort of escape plan, he laid back to get a few more hours of rest. 

~~~~~~~~

Heero awoke at exactly 5:30 the next morning. Years of waking up early as a soldier had yet to wear off, even over a decade after the war had ended.

Getting up, he looked over at the other bed. Juuni was restless, constantly switching positions in her sleep. Ventuno, on the other hand, lay completely still, only shifting when one of Juuni's appendages landed on him, making him flinch.

Heero debated when to wake them up. He wanted to get back on the trail soon; every second they spent here was another second Duo and Sifir could be getting farther away, mistreated, or… he refused to let himself think about other possibilities. Yet despite his urgency to get moving, he knew his children needed this rest. And there was no way he was just going to leave them here when he went out to search. First of all, they would likely panic if they awoke to find their tousan gone. Also, Heero had a bad feeling about the clerk who had checked them in the night before. The feeling hadn't been strong enough to avoid sleeping here, and besides, this was the only motel in town; however, he was not going to leave Ven and Juuni alone here.

He also didn't ignore the possibility that they could be in danger as well. While it seemed the main target of the kidnapping had been Sifir, there was no guarantee that the enemy would leave the rest of the family alone. Especially if their use of Duo as motivation became too much of a hassle… No. He would not consider that idea. He would work under the assumption that both his partner and Sifir were alive, unless given absolute proof otherwise.

He decided he would take a shower, then get the kids up. They had gone to bed relatively early the night before, due to pure exhaustion, so hopefully they would be adequately re-energized.

He headed for the bathroom. After showering, he was getting dressed, when he heard muffled sounds from outside the bathroom. Leaving his shirt off and grabbing his gun, Heero raced out to see what was going on.

Relaxing somewhat when he found no strangers in the room, he saw Juuni thrashing about more wildly than she had been before. Moans sounding almost like pleas came from her mouth, and Heero realized she was having a nightmare. Ven had apparently been awakened by her sudden movements, and was watching her helplessly. Looking up when he heard Heero enter, he gave his tousan a pleading gaze.

Heero nodded to the boy, moving to his daughter's side. Nightmares were actually something he could handle. Both he and Duo had had more than their fair shares of haunting dreams about the war, killing, death. Many times Heero had awakened his love from the throws of a nightmare, then soothingly calmed him down, talking him back into a peaceful sleep. Though the kids' bad dreams were once again something Duo usually handled, Heero felt it was something he could manage.

Slowly reaching out a hand to run his fingers through Juuni's tangled hair, he whispered soothingly, "It's okay. It's just a dream. Come on, Juuni, wake up. You're safe here. I've got you." Keeping up a constant string of reassurances, he felt his daughter start to relax. He placed his other hand on her arm, then noticed her eyes open and fix on him.

"Tousan?" she asked hesitantly.

He nodded. "I'm here, Juuni."

She burst into tears, sitting up and wrapping her arms tightly around him. "Tousan, it was _horrible_! The bad guys, th—they found us, and they said they'd k—killed Dad, and then they sh—shot you and Ven, and they were gonna take me to make Sifir cooperate, so I ran, and they chased me, and I almost got out, but I tripped and they caught up with me, and…" she trailed off, sobbing into his shoulder.

"Shh…" Heero comforted her, rubbing her back in small circles. "It's okay, it was only a dream…" This was the second time in two days he'd had to deal with a crying Juuni, but this time he actually felt like he was helping.

Indeed, her sobbing was subsiding, and she loosened her death grip on her tousan. Sniffling, she asked, "It's not totally a dream, though, is it? The bad guys really do have Dad and Sifir?"

Heero gave her a tight squeeze, then pushed her shoulders back to look her in the eyes. "They do, but not for long. We _are_ going to find them, and get both of them back safely." Inwardly, he hoped desperately that he wasn't giving his daughter false promises.

The reassurances did have the desired affect, however, and Juuni smiled. "We're gonna rescue them and be heroes and Dad's gonna be so proud and Sifir'll be amazed and everything'll be good, right?"

From the other side of the bed came a laugh. "You're silly, Juuni," Ven commented.

Juuni turned to glare playfully at him. "Nani??" [1]

"Be heroes? Baka, only _Tousan_ is Heero," he replied with a grin.

She stuck out her tongue at him, and Heero hid a smile. 

_Joking, even under such serious circumstances; just like Duo,_ Heero thought. He couldn't help but believe that if his kids could be that bright and cheery, then everything would turn out all right in the end.

~~~~~~~~

The next time Duo awoke was to the door opening once again. He was instantly awake, and moved to stand between the door and his son. Sifir awoke, blinking a few times, then standing beside his father. Duo placed his arms around his son's shoulders.

Dr. White entered, looking at the boy. "Are you ready for more testing, Sifir?"

Sifir nodded, and stepped forward out of his father's reach.

Realizing there was nothing he could do at this point, Duo raised his gaze from his son's back to Dr. White's face. "You're not going to hurt him?"

She met his look seriously. "He will not be harmed. You have my word."

Something in her eyes told him she meant it, and he nodded.

Sifir turned around, said quietly, "I'll be fine, Dad," and followed Dr. White out of the room.

~~~~~~~~

Before going to sleep the previous night, Heero had set up his laptop to check on any leads his sources may have gotten. Nothing had come up, but he'd also set up a search for any information about the blue van Juuni had described. Now, before they checked out of the hotel, he once again checked for new information.

Nothing yet. Sighing, Heero left the laptop set up to pick up more information even without being plugged in. That mode would only last for a few hours without power, but it was their only option.

After the two kids had washed up and dressed, they had a quick, unhealthy breakfast of food from the vending machines. They also got a few extra snacks to keep for later, since they had no idea where they might be in the next few hours. By 7:00 they were ready to head out once again.

Heero decided their best bet was to head back on the trail they'd been following yesterday, and search for clues they might have missed. Since they had been following the signal more than any visual references, they could have missed something. He didn't really believe that he did, but at this point it was their only lead.

They made better time that morning, perhaps due to the fact that Juuni and Ven were freshly rested, and made it to the site of the transmitter in less than an hour.

Heading out farther than they had previously, the three spread out to search. Heero made sure the two kids were still in his visual and/or auditory range at all times, however.

"Ven, Tousan!" Juuni cried, and Heero tensed, until he realized her shout was in excitement, not fear. Following her voice, he reached the girl at the same time Ven did. She was moving away from them, however, toward an area where the trees seemed to thin out…

It was a road. Apparently not a frequently-used road, but it was paved, not gravel. Heero looked at it in surprise, feeling shame that he had not seen this the day before, but relief that they appeared to be back on track. "Good job, Juuni," he congratulated her.

She grinned, and Heero sensed that some of the guilt she'd felt yesterday from the fact that her transmitter seemingly lead nowhere was eased by her discovery of the road. Glad that she would now be more emotionally prepared for any challenges they came across, he then wondered where they should go from here. The road lead off into the trees east and west, with no discernable differences between the two directions.

Ven seemed to be pondering something. "Wonder how the transmitter got there? You think they even knew it was there? They'd probably have destroyed it or something if they'd known about it, right? Maybe it just fell out of the van somehow and got carried off a little ways by some curious animal." [2]

Surprised at his son's logical deduction, Heero nodded. "That's a good thought, Ven. Now, the question is, which way do we go?"

As if in answer, there was a beep from the bag on his back. Heero pulled the laptop out and opened it, typing in his password.

It was a minor police report, noting that a blue van matching Juuni's description had been sighted blowing past a tollbooth without paying. This had apparently happened last night, at a tollbooth several miles to the east of their current position.

When Juuni finished reading the article over Heero's shoulder, she announced happily, "That's it, then! We go east!" She pointed down the road toward the sun rising above the tree line.

Heero didn't say anything for a moment, still staring at the computer screen.

"Tousan?" Ven asked.

"We go to the west," [3] he stated, closing the laptop and putting it away.

"Huh?" The two kids looked at him with matching confused expressions.

He explained, "These people are too good. They managed to kidnap an ex-Gundam pilot and two of his kids without anyone, even another ex-pilot nearby, realizing it. These are professionals; they would not have made a stupid mistake like getting caught on tape running a tollbooth."

Juuni still looked confused. "So it was a different van? Then how do you know we should go west?"

Understanding was dawning on Ven's face, however. "So they did it on purpose…"  
  
"Huh?" Juuni asked, looking up at her tousan for further explanation.

"The driver of the van would not have run a tollbooth so soon after the kidnapping unless it were on purpose, to lead us off the trail. Ven's earlier comment about the transmitter falling out implies that the door was opened at some point. Chances are good that Sifir and your dad were transferred into a different vehicle around this area, and the van headed in the opposite direction to lead us off course."

"So they know we found Juuni?" Ven asked.

"Not necessarily, they may have just…" Heero's eyes hardened. "The clerk at the hotel," he said venomously. "I knew there was something fishy about him when he was looking at you two. They must have paid him to tell them we were there. The question is, does he know enough about them to be worth going back there…?" He shook his head, answering his own question. "They'd know I might catch on, and either tell him next to nothing, or be ready to kill him the instant we show up there again."

Juuni looked appalled. "They'd kill someone who helped them?"

Ven answered jadedly, "They're bad guys, Juuni. They don't care who they kill."

Heero was silent, wishing that his children didn't have to learn about this side of human nature so early in life. Even without the danger involved, he was starting to rethink their participation. However, he had to admit that their help had been quite beneficial so far. Besides, at this point it would take too much time to find somewhere safe to leave them behind. It seemed he was stuck with them, at least for now.

He just hoped his kids weren't forced to grow up too soon in this adult world.

~~~~~~~~  
TBC  
~~~~~~~~

Footnotes:

[1] "Nani?" = "What?"

[2] No, this is not just the author finding a way to explain what happened… Okay, fine, it is. :) Our characters are quite good at telling the audience what they need to know, ne?

[3] Any Saiyuki fans out there? Go to the West…

Co-author Rant: *Yawn*...Tori's tired...despite having accomplished next to nothing. The new artwork is finally done and ready to ink!! Yay! Dance of joy! Now all that's left is about thirty hours of inking, scanning, and coloring. Yippee. Um, nothing else new here.

Some of our loyal readers may have noticed that Kazoku is getting updated a lot less frequently. Part of the reason for this is because we're really busy with school, work, and trying to learn Hungarian (and German) in three weeks. But part of it is the lack of reviews. Don't worry, we won't stop updating even if we get no reviews at all, but it does help us go faster. Motivation, people! 

Now, I'm off to clean my pigsty of a dorm room before my parents get here. Chances of success: zero. Anyway, have a good weekend everyone! Auf Wiedersehen!


	7. In which fun actiony stuff happens!

Thanks once again to our loyal reviewer sparda219, and thanks so much to Shichan goddess, who not only reviewed all 6 chapters of Kazoku, but also reviewed a bunch of our other stuff! We love both of you!! :)

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Chapter 7 (In which fun actiony stuff happens!)  
~~~~~~~~

Bored with singing irritating songs to the unresponsive camera, Duo now sat silently, pondering how to escape. He wished he still kept lock picks and other useful items in his braid; however, in the years since the end of the war, storing things there had become more uncomfortable and less necessary, so he'd stopped. Now he decided that once he got out of here, there was always going to be at least one lock pick in his braid at all times.

His thinking was interrupted by the door opening once again, and the soldiers telling him he was allowed another bathroom break. This gave Duo an idea…

There were no surveillance cameras in the small bathroom. He'd checked, feeling the possibly irrational desire for privacy when relieving himself. Thankfully, the guards that escorted him waited outside, allowing him a few minutes of blessed privacy.

Once in the tiny lavatory, he looked around for useful items. At first he believed the toilet paper holder had promise. He took it apart, but it was really just a plastic tube. He put it back so as not to cause suspicion should they notice it missing. He searched a bit more, then grinned. On the floor, behind the toilet, was a paperclip. Quite careless of them, but Duo was pleased. He stashed it in his braid, then did his business and allowed himself to be escorted back to the cell.

Looking at the lock on the cell door, Duo decided against attempting to pick it right then. He didn't know how he'd deal with the security camera without alerting them that he would be attempting something; and besides, there could be guards stationed outside that very moment.

Realizing the paperclip would have to wait for some later opportunity, Duo was once again stuck pacing the cell, trying to come up with some escape plan.

~~~~~~~~

Heero had determined that, since the van had apparently come through on the small road they'd found, there must be a way to get to it. The road didn't show up on maps he got off his laptop, but he figured it couldn't be too hard to find, especially with the help of the still-operational transmitter, so they headed back to their car again.

On their hike back through the forest, they had a curious encounter with a boy with a bandana in his dark hair. The boy wandered by, muttering, "Where the hell am I now??" Then the three heard a splash and a squeal, and the boy was gone. [1]

Shrugging at the strange occurrence, Heero lead Ven and Juuni back to the car and they eventually managed to find a way through to the road in the forest. Turning toward the west, he felt that they were finally on their way to finding Duo and their youngest son.

~~~~~~~~

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The paper target was brought back to the waiting Dr. White, who looked at it in shock. Six holes were present, each within several inches of the center of the two-dimensional figure's head. Not exactly perfect, but for a boy of Sifir's age…

She stared at the boy, who looked at her calmly. "I'll shoot paper, but I will not kill people," he stated resolutely.

Dr. White didn't know how to reply to that. She didn't want to lie to him, but she knew he would ultimately be used for that very purpose.

When she hesitated, the man beside her, a brown-haired man with glasses and a bit too much stubble[2], spoke to the boy. "Not yet. But you will, kid. Sooner than you believe possible, you will become a well-trained killer." He grinned evilly at Sifir, who did not reply.

"Excuse me," Dr. White put in icily. "I believe Sifir is _my_ charge. I am the one who decides at what pace he is ready to proceed."

"I am deeply sorry if I offended you, Doctor," the man replied, his voice clearly indicating he was nothing of the sort.

She sighed, glaring at him. "What are you doing here, anyway? Don't you have other duties?" There was no one else in the room, besides her, Sifir, and the most irritating man in this facility.

He smirked. "Just taking a break to watch our Boy Wonder in action."

Dr. White just shook her head, turning to her charge. "You did well on this part, Sifir. Let's move on to other tests." She ushered him out of the room, leaving the smirking man alone in the target practice area.

~~~~~~~~

A guard brought in a tray with food, or at least what his captors referred to as such. Looking at the slop—soup, maybe?—that he'd been brought, Duo hoped Sifir was being fed better, as he was likely having a much more active day today.

Picking up the plastic spork—they didn't trust him with real silverware, or even a plastic knife—he poked at his food. He looked up at the departing guard. "Excuse me, waiter? This isn't what I ordered; my meal was the T-bone steak…" He trailed off when the man exited and shut the door without even turning around. "Fine, then! Don't you complain when I don't leave a tip! Hey, can I speak to your manager??"

Grumbling, Duo began to force himself to eat the junk in front of him. It looked worse than hospital food, and he'd been in hospitals enough to know that they had some of the worst food in the solar system. This was worse, however. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine that he was instead eating some fabulous gourmet at one of Quatre's mansions, or some of Sally's pleasant home-cooked meals, but it wasn't working.

He'd had enough of this. He'd had enough of all of this.

Standing slowly, he held the tray toward the door and glanced pointedly at the camera, his way of telling them to come take the remains of the meal. It worked, and a minute later two guards walked in.

Instead of handing him the tray, however, Duo raised it and rammed it into the back of the first guard's neck. The soup bowl he held in his other hand, and he splashed the lukewarm liquid into the eyes of the other guard.

The first guard dropped like a rock, while the second fell back for a moment but quickly reached for his gun. Before he could fully recover, Duo grabbed the gun from the holster of the first guard and made a break for it. He raced down the hall, intent on finding a hiding place so he could come out and look for Sifir once the guard had passed. However, his hopes were shattered as he rounded a corner and saw a squad of four more guards headed for him. He turned around and saw another six coming from the other direction.

Duo swore, then raced back the way he'd come. If he could make it past the one guard, then he might still get away from the troops. He could still get to Sifir…

That was his last thought before he felt a sudden sharp pain in his neck, then felt no more.

~~~~~~~~

They'd been traveling west for some time without finding anything apart from trees and more trees. Ven had been sitting in the passenger seat trying to get any new information from Heero's laptop, while Juuni sat in back munching on a bag of chips. Heero just drove, staring straight ahead at the road and hoping they'd find something soon. Not only was he wishing they'd have found Duo and Sifir by now, but he also was getting a nagging feeling that something was wrong, and he didn't know what.

"Ne, Tousan, when are we gonna get there?" Juuni asked.

Heero sensed she was mostly joking, probably just trying to break the silence that had hung in the air for the past hour. Still, he answered, "I don't know, Juuni." He didn't think that the kidnappers would have taken their captives too far, or they'd have used a different form of transportation. If they'd flown somewhere, or taken a shuttle to one of the colonies, there was no way he'd be able to find them. Since he wasn't willing to accept that possibility, he had to assume they were on Earth, and within reasonable distance of his present location.

Juuni didn't reply, and once again silence reigned. The nagging feeling was still bothering Heero, and it was starting to get urgent.

Finally, he realized what it was. Whenever they were on a relatively flat or straight track of road, where he could see farther behind them, there was a glint of metal, as if someone where following them. This road didn't appear to be used much, and they had yet to encounter another vehicle heading the opposite direction, but he realized he'd been seeing signs of the tailing vehicle for a while.

_Kuso_, he thought. _There aren't any turn-offs for me to easily lose them, and they'll get suspicious if we speed up…_ Heero debated how to handle this. _On the other hand, do I really _want _ to lose them?_ It was a fair assumption that the ones tailing them were working for the same people as the kidnappers. In that case, it might be wiser to catch them and attempt to get information out of them, to determine Duo's and Sifir's whereabouts. However, he didn't want to risk Ven and Juuni's safety…

Feeling that action was better than inaction, Heero decided the risk was necessary. "Ven, Juuni, we're being followed. I want you two to remain buckled in, but keep your heads down, and _stay in the car_, no matter what happens," he ordered. "Understood?"

"Mission accepted," Ven replied with a grim smile. Juuni nodded her agreement.

Heero glanced in the mirror one more time, then threw the car into reverse, not bothering with turning it around on the narrow road. Accelerating as quickly as he dared, he managed to reach the pickup that had been following before they could react. With amazing speed, he swung around next to them, jumped out of the car, pulled his gun, and shot the tires of the truck. Then, taking a quick glance to make sure the kids were obeying his orders, he raced to the pickup and yanked open the driver's side door.

Only two men stared back at him, blinking in shock before reaching for their own weapons. Heero immediately responded by shooting the gun out of the farther man's grip and grabbing the closer one's weapon with his free left hand.

"Tell me where my son and partner are," he demanded, eyes darting back and forth between the two to catch any sudden movements.

The men just stared back at him, their previous shock giving way to smugness. "Whatever you do to the two of us doesn't matter, your son's still gonna be used for our heinous plans," the farther man spoke, placing a sarcastic emphasis on the word 'heinous.' "The long-haired guy, though; don't think they'll be needed him for much longer. I know some of my buds were hoping they'd get to have some fun with him once his usefulness is gone." Both men snickered.

A deep growl emanated from Heero's throat, as his death glare focused on the man. "You will tell me where they are, or you will soon be pleading with me for a quick death."

"You wouldn't do anything that bad with your kids watching," the closer man stated, head gesturing toward the car, where two heads were pushed against the glass watching. The man sounded confident, but Heero sensed an amount of fear in his eyes.

Without turning his head, Heero raised his voice to speak to the kids. "Ven, Juuni, sit down and keep your eyes shut. And whatever you hear, don't open them until I say you can do so."

He didn't look to see that they obeyed, but watched as the wide-eyed man before him swallowed visibly. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you what you want to know…"

The other man protested, "Don't tell him a thing. He's bluffing."

Heero looked at him coldly. "I don't bluff."

The man's face remained expressionless, but he didn't say another word.

"This is your last chance. Tell me where my son and partner are," Heero ordered once again.

Taking a deep breath, the closer man began to babble, "They're in some old office building, it's not far from here, just keep heading west until you get to a fork in the road, then go left, about five miles from there make a sharp right turn and keep going until you get to a collection of buildings, it's the second one on the left…"

Heero listened carefully to the instructions, memorizing them. He was about to ask for details on security, when he saw the other man reaching for something under the glove box. Firing his gun, Heero realized he would be too late, for the man's fingers triggered the switch before he fell lifeless against the seat.

Quickly, Heero jumped away from the truck, hitting the ground and rolling mere seconds before the pickup exploded.

~~~~~~~~  
TBC  
~~~~~~~~

Footnotes:

[1] Any Ranma ½ fans out there? Sorry, I just couldn't resist; I know Ryouga shows up as a cameo in a ton of fic, but it is my fault the boy gets lost so easily?

[2] Saiyuki fans -- Don't know what Nii is doing in the GW universe, but he seemed to fit the character…

Co-author Rant: La li ho~! Wow, reviews! I'm so excited! See, we promised we get parts out sooner if we got reviews! Yippee! And the new sketch is inked and scanned, ready for coloring. Feedback works wonders. :) Urm, that's about it for now...Rey and I have martial arts testing this weekend, so wish us luck!

Oh yeah, additional note: Heero is a professional. Please don't try this stuff at home. If you try to reverse without shifting through neutral, it would be bad. Your transmission may no longer be attached to your car. Remember, Heero's car is from the future, so it's super spiffy.

Good night, good luck, and may your God go with you.


	8. In which Heero kicks butt and Duo gets h...

Merci mucho (to use my old French/Spanish teacher's phrase) to sparda219 and Shichan Goddess for reviewing not only this but The Black Book as well! (sparda--hmm, Stalking 101, I'll have to think about that...) I feel so loved! ::hugs:: Oh, and glad you both appreciated Ryouga's cameo. :) Hope you enjoy this part, too! (And Shichan--fic is always more fun than studying, ne? Don't let me be the reason for you not doing well, though!)

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Chapter 8 (In which Heero kicks butt and Duo gets his butt kicked)  
~~~~~~~~

Duo awoke to a sudden pain in his stomach as a foot connected with it. "Wake up," a harsh voice commanded, and the foot lashed out again.

He groaned, rolling over on the hard floor to protect himself from the cruel kicks.

"Good, you're finally up," the voice spoke, and Duo's head spun as rough hands grabbed him by his shirt and hauled up him up to a standing position.

Finally opening his eyes, Duo glared at the man before him. "Who are you to interrupt my beauty sleep?" he complained. Looking the man up and down, he added, "Actually, you look you could use some yourself, maybe a few years' worth…"

The man's face turned bright red, and brought a fist up into Duo's already-bruising stomach. The braided man would have fallen if he wasn't still held up by the shirt.

_Mental note_, Duo thought. _Don't piss off the captor when you already feel like you're about to throw up. I wonder how upset he'd get if I got sick all over him…_ He decided he didn't want to test it.

The man glared at him as if daring him to make another smart remark, then warned, "Now, you're getting off easy this time. Try escaping again, and your punishment won't be nearly as pleasant—for you." He grinned, and Duo really didn't like the look in his eyes, but he remained silent. "Just remember—the kid is the important one here. You act up too much, we can just kill you and go grab your lover or another of your kids to use as motivation. Understand?"

Duo was starting to think they just were trying to wound his ego, with all the "you're not important, you're pond scum, only your son is worth anything" crap. However, the threat that the rest of his family might be in danger if he didn't cooperate certainly dampened some of his drive to attempt another escape. It wasn't that he didn't trust Heero to take care of Ven and Juuni; indeed, he knew his partner would take extra measures to ensure their safety after Duo and Sifir vanished. Still, he knew this organization was a group of professionals, and they could very well carry through on that threat.

Upon seeing Duo's resigned nod, the man seemed to be appeased. "Good." Without another word, the man released Duo and left the room, followed by two other guards who'd apparently been in the cell as well.

Catching himself so he at least had a controlled descent to the floor, Duo groaned. Holding his arms around his aching abdomen, he hoped Sifir was having a better day than he was.

~~~~~~~~

Dr. White watched as Sifir sat at the controls of a simulator, seemingly piloting a mobile suit admirably through an asteroid field while simultaneously destroying dozens of enemy suits. She almost wished they could have set up a more realistic exercise with real MS, but that would have drawn far too much unwanted attention.

Her admiration of the boy was continuing to grow throughout every test. The endurance test had revealed that he could run five miles in under half an hour. He'd also been tested in martial arts and other hand-to-hand fighting. He hadn't won every match, but he had held his own sparring against some of their best fighters, ones she was sure weren't holding anything back just because they were fighting a kid. Now, after hours of strenuous activity, with only two short breaks for meals, he was showing practically no signs of fatigue, other than a slight strain in his eyes.

When the last image of an enemy blew up on the screen, Dr. White turned the machine off. "Well, Sifir, that was your last test. You've done remarkably well on everything today; I guess you'll get to start your actual training tomorrow." She couldn't keep a small amount of pride out of her voice; she knew his abilities had nothing to do with her, but just working with this amazing boy made her feel slightly higher than her peers in this organization. Remembering her superior's warning about getting too attached to the boy, however, she tried to suppress such feelings of pride.

Sifir looked up at her, and she could tell there was a question in his eyes. "What is it, Sifir?" she prompted.

"What—what exactly is the 'training' going to be?" he asked hesitantly.

Dr. White felt somewhat negligent as she realized she never had told the boy what to expect when his testing was complete. She began to explain. "Well, some of what you'll be doing is just improving your abilities that we've tested yesterday and today. Yes, you're doing quite well for your age, but you have the potential to become even more skilled in those areas. Then we'll go more into things we haven't done: infiltrating secure areas, more specific weapons training—"

"I'm not going to kill anyone," he interrupted, the look in his eyes challenging.

She took a deep breath. "Not yet, no."

Sifir shook his head. "No. I'm not going to kill for you. Ever."

"Sifir…" she began.

"If I'm done for today, can I go back to my dad now?" The look in his eyes was colder than any he'd given her since when they'd first met and she'd threatened his father. The glare was so intense she backed up a step without even realizing it.

Sighing, Dr. White nodded, and wordlessly ushered him back to the cell.

~~~~~~~~

Pushing himself up off the ground, Heero looked at the flaming pile of metal that had once been a truck. There was no chance either of the men inside had survived. He quickly examined himself and found no injuries worse than a light road burn on one arm and some possible areas of bruising.

"TOUSAN!"

Hearing Juuni's scream, he adjusted his focus to his children, who were racing toward him.

"I thought I told you two to stay in the car," Heero chastised gently, putting an arm around his daughter who was hugging his legs tightly.

"We heard an explosion from where you'd been seconds earlier; what did you expect us to do?" Ven asked, looking at the blazing truck with wide eyes.

Nodding, Heero gestured for them to head back to the car. "Understandable, but remember that you two are staying with me under the condition that you obey my commands."

"We know," the kids replied in unison, their voices penitent. "We can still stay with you, though, right?" Juuni asked hesitantly.

He sighed. "It's gotten more dangerous now, so I wish you weren't along, but there aren't really any other options at this point. Just promise me you won't disobey me again."

The children promised, then Juuni asked, "Are you okay, Tousan?"

Heero nodded. "I'm fine, Juuni."

"Did they tell you anything before they… blew up?" Ven inquired as the three settled back in to the undamaged vehicle. His eyes were still focused on the fire.

"I acquired the location of the building where your dad and brother are being held, but nothing about security. I'm fairly certain the man was telling the truth. However, we have no way of knowing if those men were supposed to report in at any given time, so we should get moving," Heero realized. He turned to look at his oldest son. "Those men died protecting the information. I wanted to get the others back without any deaths, but that is apparently no longer an option." He met Juuni's eyes, making sure she was listening as well. "The search is also much more dangerous now, so keep your minds focused on what we have to do here. Understood?"

They nodded with wide eyes, and Heero started the car in the direction he'd been instructed. Finally, he had a definite direction and time for when they'd reach his missing family members. If the man wasn't lying. If they weren't moved before he could get there. If they were even still…

Heero had no time for _If_s.

~~~~~~~~

As Dr. White and Sifir approached the cell, the doctor noticed the guards outside were not the ones usually on duty at the time. Not one to socialize with those under her, she didn't bother to question them.

When the door to the cell opened, she saw the American prisoner lying on the floor, arms draped over his stomach. As he looked up and noticed his son entering, he moved to stand, but moaned and paused on his knees before making it the rest of the way upright.

Sifir's eyes widened as he saw this. "Dad!" he shouted, and rushed to his father's side.

"I'm okay, Sifir," Duo assured his son, his pained voice belying his words. "How was your day? They still haven't hurt you, have they?"

"No," came the short reply. The boy hesitantly reached out his hand, holding it a few centimeters away from Duo's stomach, as if afraid to touch him. "What happened? What did they do to you?" The voice was quiet and calm, but the underlying concern in it was obvious.

There was a pause as Duo debated how to answer. Dr. White remained in the room, watching silently, curious as well. Finally, the braided man just gave in. "I tried to escape; they weren't too happy with me," he stated sardonically.

Frowning but not replying, Sifir turned to the watching doctor. "He needs medical attention again, and not that jerk who came earlier."

The woman looked at the boy, wanting to appease him but unable to do so. "Dr. Wong is the only—"

"Look, it's not that bad," Duo interrupted, holding out a hand. He then brought the hand back to his abdomen with a grimace. "Well, some more painkillers would be nice, but I can tell I don't have broken ribs or anything."

Sifir looked at his father appraisingly, then turned back to Dr. White. "Get him painkillers, and more blankets so he can sleep more comfortably, or I'm not starting training tomorrow."

Dr. White nodded, but Duo interjected again, "No. You're not doing training anyway."

"Dad, I don't have a choice," Sifir stated softly.

Duo stared back at his son, sighing with resignation.

"I'll see that you get painkillers and blankets," the doctor promised, exiting the room.

Slowly and cautiously, Duo moved to his knees, and wrapped his arms around Sifir. The boy tenderly returned the hug, not wanting to hurt his father any more than he already was.

Neither was certain who had needed the comfort more, but both felt somewhat better.

~~~~~~~~  
TBC  
~~~~~~~~

Footnote:

Anyone notice the accidental pun I made in this part that Tori made me leave in? Kudos to those who found it!

Co-author Rant: What up peeps? It's Tori again, you're friendly neighborhood co-author...who can kick some serious ass! Whoo hoo! Martial arts testing went great! Rey did her form and sparring combos no trouble and I didn't screw up either! Eleven forms, five rounds of sparring including two two-against-one rounds, and broke all my boards (side kick, elbow smash, and jump side kick). Yay! Pretty good for not having tested in seven years. :) But we'll know for sure if we passed some time next week...

In other news, no progress on the colored pic...sorry guys, I spent all last week cramming for testing...and writing fic. Coming soon from Birdfish Publications: Nexus, a new fic from the twisted imagination of Tori Sakana. Word of warning, it's very different from the other stuff I've done, but Rey likes it.... *End Shameless Plug*

Wow, this is probably the longest rant yet...and I'm still not done! A word to the wise: if you room with a psych major, be prepared to be analyzed. After analyzing my self-handicapping defense mechanisms all weekend, Rey moved on to bigger and better things...for example, Dr. White is exhibiting a textbook case of Basking in Reflected Glory. *sigh* why can't people just be crazy any more?

Anyhoo, that's all on the Tori front...that's my story and I'm sticking to it.


	9. In which time starts running out

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Chapter 9 (In which time starts running out)  
~~~~~~~~

The sun was getting low on the horizon, making it slightly harder for Heero to see as he drove the car in the directions he'd been given. Indeed, within fifteen minutes he had reached the building complex. After parking far enough away and hidden by trees so as not to be seen, he turned to Ven and Juuni. "Well, so far it appears I was given proper directions. I'm going to go check it out briefly, then I will be back so you two can get a decent amount of sleep before we proceed with the rescue."

Juuni looked giddy at the prospect of finally getting to the rescue, but Ven just looked worried. "You're going to go out there alone, _and_ leave us here unprotected, this close to enemy territory? Wouldn't it be better for you to take us with you?" he questioned.

Heero shook his head, having already thought this through. "Three people sneaking around would be more noticeable, no matter how quiet you try to be. Plus, I do feel you two will be safer here for now, and I already realize that I will probably need to bring you two in when we go through with the actual rescue. I will not risk you more than necessary." When Ven hesitantly nodded, Heero had an idea. Popping the trunk and getting out of the car, he gestured for the other two to join him by the back. Curious, the kids watched in silence as he opened the trunk, then lifted the false floor that in most cars would contain a spare tire. In a former Gundam pilot's vehicle, however, this was not the case.

"Whoa!" Juuni exclaimed, as Ven just stared in awe at the dozens of guns, knives, and other weapons stashed in the small area.

"How long have you had all this?" Ven asked, not averting his gaze from all the weaponry.

Heero shrugged. "Had it from the war, kept it just in case."

"But what if you'd gotten a flat tire and couldn't fix it because you had all this stuff instead of a spare?" Juuni asked. The other two just looked at her incredulously. "What?"

They just shook their heads, then Ven met his tousan's eyes. "You'll let us use weapons."

Heero nodded, a serious expression on his face. "Your martial arts training is probably not going to be enough against multiple trained adults, and you're going to have to be armed when we go in later. However, you will not have lethal weapons."  
  
Ven returned the serious look. "I understand." Juuni nodded as well.

Rummaging through the near-arsenal, Heero pulled out two small weapons. "A tranquilizer dart gun, and a taser."

"Oooh!" Juuni cried, grabbing the taser. "I want this one!"

Calmly taking the dart gun, Ven smirked at his sister. "Baka."

"Hey! Why'd you call me a baka, you baka?"

"Because my dart gun is way better than your taser!"  
  
"Is not! Mine _zaps_ people!"

Heero just ignored the exchange, selecting a few of the other weapons in the trunk to hide in his own clothing. Spare guns for him, plus some for Duo once they found him. He then ushered the kids back into the car, ordering them to keep the doors locked and to hide from sight until he returned.

Then, stealthily making his way toward the second building as instructed, Heero fell back into his perfect soldier mode, eyes flickering toward any movement, ears picking out any unnatural sounds, keeping hidden as much as possible. In his quick reconnaissance, he determined that there were two guards stationed outside at the front door, all the windows were covered, and one part of the building had apparently been converted to enable transport of large items—motor vehicles or larger—in and out. While none of this was proof that his son and partner were being held here, it was enough evidence to convince Heero, and his gut instinct agreed that this was the right place.

The sun had completely set by this time, and he headed back to the car. Knocking on the window in the secret pattern that Juuni had insisted upon before he left, Heero unlocked the door and sat in the car. Looking at Juuni's expectant expression and Ven's calmly curious one, Heero nodded. "Looks like this is the place."

Juuni began bouncing in her seat. "Can't we go rescue them now? Huh? Please? Can we?"

Heero looked seriously at her. "No, we're not going in until you two get some sleep."

"But I'm not tired," she complained, immediately followed by an attempt to hide a yawn belying her words.

Ven added, "What about you, Tousan? Aren't you gonna get any sleep?"

Heero shook his head. "I'm going to keep watch while you sleep. I don't want to leave you guys awake alone here for too long, and besides, I've completed missions on very little sleep multiple times. I'm also going to check in while you two sleep, request some backup, and possibly get a little more information on those buildings before we move in."

"What, you mean you need more backup than Juuni and me?" Ven asked, an impish grin on his face. At his tousan's skeptical raised eyebrow, he stated, "I know, I know, we're just kids. But I'm glad we can help at least a little." He smiled a genuine smile, then yawned. "Guess I'm more tired than I thought." He looked back at his sister. "Guess she was, too," he whispered.

Heero looked back to see his daughter flopped over in the back seat. Feeling the corner of his mouth lift up in a semblance of a smile, he reached back to straighten her out a bit so she wouldn't wake up with a neckache. He then took out his laptop, then looked back at his oldest son. Ven lay back in his seat, eyes half-closed, and smiled at his tousan. "Oyasumi nasai, Tousan."

"Oyasumi, Ven," Heero replied quietly. When Ven's eyes drifted shut, he turned to his laptop and began to work.

He was going to call for backup from the Preventors first, but as he thought about it he realized that might not be such a good idea. He could foresee two possible outcomes from requesting assistance from Une. One, she could refuse to help at all, saying one former Gundam pilot and a kid weren't vital enough to devote Preventors resources to; in that case, he would be no farther behind, but he was certain his response to that would not be good for maintaining a civil relationship with her. The other possibility would be that she _would_ send help, probably in the form of young enthusiastic wet-behind-the-ears agents who would do more harm than good for a quiet, efficient rescue. Neither of those possibilities seemed acceptable to Heero. So he couldn't go to the Preventors. However, Heero could think of some other people he trusted.

He knew the other former Gundam pilots might still be on vacation. On the other hand, the inquiries he'd sent out earlier might have reached them, and he was reasonably certain that would have cut their holidays short. Besides, Wufei, Trowa, and Quatre were the only ones to whom he'd turn for this. Still, would they make it in time? Heero decided that he would simply send them messages informing them of his location and plans for the timing of the rescue, then go ahead with it tomorrow regardless of whether they had arrived or not. While this could potentially mean going in with merely Ven and Juuni for backup, he didn't want to wait around any longer than necessary when he still didn't know Duo's and Sifir's condition.

After that decision was made, Heero began searching various sources for information on the abandoned buildings in question. The only data he found on them was that they were owned by some corporation that went bankrupt during the war, and since they weren't very close to any major cities, no one wanted to buy up the real estate. Unfortunately, he could find no blueprints or anything that could be of any use in their rescue attempt.

However, in his search, Heero also received information that appeared irrelevant at first. Apparently the Preventors had been made aware of some new radical group that was suspected of having large stores of mobile suits and other weapons and preparing for an uprising against the government. He almost overlooked that report, but his gut instinct told him to look it over again. As he read the information more closely, he still found nothing specifically relevant, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this was related to Sifir's and Duo's kidnapping.

Somehow, that made him more confident in his decision not to inform the Preventors of his plans. If Une made the same connection Heero did, there was no way she would let him take care of this on his own, and that would also significantly decrease the chances of getting Duo and Sifir out alive. While Heero was well aware of the necessity of keeping the current united government stable, he was not willing to risk the lives of his partner and son to take out the base. This was going to be done his way.

After determining that he'd done gathering all the information on this place and the radical group there was to find, Heero decided to shut off his laptop for a while. Though he couldn't sleep while watching over the kids, it would do him no good to tire himself out more working all night. He reclined the driver's seat, turning his head so he could see both Ven in the passenger seat and Juuni in the back.

He allowed himself a small smile as he settled back to watch his two oldest sleep. 

[1]

~~~~~~~~

"Sir, I think we can move the boy's training up to Stage 10."

"Stage 10? Already?"

"You've seen how well he did on those tests."

"Dr. White seems to believe he needs to go through the whole process."

"_Doctor_ White has become too emotionally involved with the boy; her judgment is based on his fears, not his capabilities. Sir."

"So you believe he is capable of completing Stage 10 now."

"I do."

"Okay, do it."

"Sir?"

"Kill the father." 

[2]

~~~~~~~~  
TBC  
~~~~~~~~

Footnotes:

[1] Sorry for the rather talky part; it was information and thinking that needed to happen at some point. We promise more action in the next part. In case you couldn't tell by the last line of the last section. :)

[2] Tori: WHAAAT?!?!?!  
Rey: Oops.  
Tori: You're gonna kill my lil Duo-chan? Hidoi~!  
Rey: Sorry.  
Tori: Grrr. *pulls out Gilgamesh*  
Rey: *hides behind chair* NOOOO!  
Tori: *shoots errant roommate/coauthor* So there.   
Rey: That was uncalled for.  
Tori: Serves you right.  
*blows imaginary smoke away from barrel.*  
Rey: *mutters* It was your idea…  
Tori: Oh yeah…shut up.

Co-author rant: Buwahaha! Cliffhanger-ness! Now we're off to Hungary, see you in a month!

No, just kidding, we'll only be gone a week. But the more reviews we have waiting for us when we return, the faster we work! After spring break I might have time to work on that new sketch and stuff...but you'll just have to wait to find out what happens to poor lil Duo and Sifir!

And the first part of Nexus is out! Yaaay! (Dance of Joy) It took me freaking forever to write (about one entire semester, give or take a few weeks), but it's done! Parts will be coming out as I finish cleaning them up and fixing the logical errors that Rey so kindly pointed out. Nexus is my baby, so please go read and enjoy! 

Happy Spring Break everybody! See you in a week or so!

Oh, and BTW, Gilgamesh is my water pistol. The gods themselves tremble at the mere sound of its name! BUWAHAHA!


	10. In which the paperclip saves the day

Don't worry, Sparda219, Shichan. I couldn't kill my poor lil Duo... Besides, I'm sure Heero would hunt me down and kill me slowly and painfully if I did... Even if he is just an imaginary character, I'm not taking any chances...

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Chapter 10 (In which the paperclip saves the day)  
~~~~~~~~

Duo woke up with a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Glancing over to make sure Sifir was still safely—'safe' being a relative term at this point—curled up in his blankets, he tried to pinpoint what was wrong. Not that he had any reason to feel anything was _right_, he still felt unusually anxious. He concluded it must be that Sifir's training was to start today.

As he watched his son sleep, he realized he should wake the boy so he could talk to him before Dr. White came. Reaching his arm out to shake the sleeping form, he said quietly, "Sifir? Time to get up."

Sifir stirred, the slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Dad?" he asked sleepily.

"I want to talk with you before you have to begin your training," Duo explained.

That statement had the boy up and alert immediately. "I told you, I'm not gonna make you a promise I can't keep," he warned warily.

Duo nodded. "I know. I'm not going to ask for a promise, just that you do your best. Whatever your training involves, today or any other time, don't act against your morals. Don't allow harm to come to others, unless it is absolutely your only way out. And if you get the opportunity to get out of here without me, _take it_. I can find a way out on my own, but only once I'm certain you'll be safe. Okay?"

Sifir nodded, looking very mature for his age. "I'll try."

His father gave him a bittersweet smile. "I guess that's all I can ask."

Before Sifir could reply, the door slid open. Dr. White entered, and looked almost eagerly at the boy. "Well, are you ready for your first day of training?"

Sifir looked as if he wanted to be excited, possibly to appease the doctor, but couldn't work up the enthusiasm. Instead he just nodded, looking back at his father. Duo tried to give his son a reassuring smile, but he doubted it worked.

As the woman and the boy left the cell, Duo hoped his son could deal with whatever challenges were thrown at him.

~~~~~~~~

Heero opened his eyes, wincing at the slight kink in his neck from sleeping in an awkward position. _…Sleeping? Kuso! I wasn't supposed to fall asleep!_

Glancing outside at the slowly lightening sky, he determined he couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour. Still, he cursed himself for falling asleep at all. If anything had happened to Ven and Juuni because of him…

He looked over and back, noting with relief that both kids were still sleeping. He guessed that the reason he'd fallen asleep was that he was unaccustomed to going quite so long without sleep. He hadn't really done so since the war. Besides, he hated admitting to himself, but he was getting older. Shoving aside that thought, he realized one good thing that came from his lapse: at least he'd gotten a short nap before the rescue proceeded, so he wouldn't be running on quite so little sleep.

Deciding it was about time to wake the kids, Heero turned to Ven and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. Ven opened his eyes and blinked up at his father, confused. "Tousan? Where are—" He looked around the car, and appeared to become fully awake. "Rescue time?"

Heero nodded, turning to wake Juuni. The instant he touched her, her eyes opened. "We're gonna go rescue Dad and Sifir now, right?" She was practically bouncing in her seat.

Heero marveled at his daughter's ability to go from deep sleep to complete wakefulness, though he figured most of it had to do with their plans for today.

Speaking of which… "Are you two ready to go over the plan for the rescue?" he asked.

Ven nodded calmly, while Juuni exclaimed, "Yup!"

"Okay, here's what we're going to do…" Heero began to explain.

~~~~~~~~

Only minutes after Sifir had gone, Duo heard the cell door open again. Breakfast, he guessed.

He looked up to see the doctor who had 'treated' him earlier—White had said his name, Wong was it?—enter, carrying a large gun that he pointed at Duo's chest. Two armed guards came in behind him.

That bad feeling in his stomach from earlier was increasing. "That's not food! Where's my pancake breakfast?" he demanded, trying not to show his unease with the situation.

Dr. Wong grinned—not a pleasant sight. "Guess today they decided you could eat bullets instead."

Duo grimaced. "Hey, I'm the one who's supposed to be cracking jokes here. Besides, yours wasn't even _funny_."

The grin widened. "Funny or not, it's true. Now, you're coming with us."

One of the guards approached Duo, handcuffing his hands behind his back. The braided man figured it wasn't worth fighting them yet, with two guns aimed directly at his heart. "Where are we going? I thought you guys needed me alive, to make my son behave. He's not exactly going to be thrilled with you when he finds out you killed his father."

"Exactly." Wong was getting far too much pleasure out of this, in Duo's opinion. "What better way to get the boy to willingly kill someone than to tell him the man killed his father?"

Duo's face paled at this. Not only did they plan on killing him, they intended to have Sifir make his first kill—at age four. No, he had to stop them. Thinking quickly, he remembered the paperclip he had stashed in his hair. Covertly moving his hands to his braid, he retrieved the clip and began maneuvering it to pick the locks on the handcuffs.

To distract the men from his moving hands, Duo questioned, "So why do you have to bring me somewhere else to do it?" Not that he minded, it would give him a better opportunity to get away.

Wong just shrugged. "They don't really want the kid coming back here to his father's blood smeared all over; figure it might traumatize him or something. Though I'm wondering why they think that'd be any worse than what they already plan to put him through…"

Duo paled even more, the image of Sifir finding his dead body laying cold in the cell… Thankful for at least that little amount of thoughtfulness on someone's part, he followed Wong out the door into the hall. The guards trailed after him.

He had just finished freeing his right hand from the cuffs, when one of the guards shouted, "Hey! What are you—?"

His first mistake was not shooting Duo the instant he realized the prisoner was getting free. His second was giving the former Gundam pilot warning that he knew.

A second after the shout, Duo had slammed a kick into the guard's stomach, grabbed his gun, and smashed the barrel over the head of the other guard. Both dropped to the floor, unconscious.

Whirling around, he turned the gun on Dr. Wong, who in turn had his weapon trained on Duo's chest.

"Well," the doctor said, smirking, "Looks like we have a good old-fashioned standoff, here."

Duo smirked back. "Yes, except that you're dealing with Shinigami." Before he'd finished talking, he'd dropped to the floor, supporting his weight with his arms as he swept his legs around to take the other man down. Wong, not expecting the move, lost balance immediately and crashed to the floor. Instantly, Duo kicked all guns from Wong's reach, then brought a fist down on the back of the man's neck, knocking him out.

While wishing he could move the men to a less conspicuous location, Duo realized that dragging the three bulky bodies would take far too much time, and only draw more attention to himself. Instead, he just grabbed the three guns from the floor, then took off down the corridor.

He didn't know what he was going to do next, only that he had two goals: find Sifir, and get them both the hell out of there.

[1]

~~~~~~~~

Heero stared at the ventilation tunnel. For once, even his small stature would not fit through the tiny area. He cursed the little amount he had grown in the past few years, certain he would have fit into such a tunnel during the war.

He returned to where he'd left his two oldest. Solemnly, he reported, "It's too small. We'll have to find a different way in."

Juuni's face fell at seeing the obstacle to getting her dad and brother back.

Ven, however, looked thoughtful. "Too small for you, or me?" he asked.

"No," came Heero's immediate reply. "We'll find another way."

"But you said the ventilation tunnel was our best shot at getting in, and—"

"And since that's no longer an option, we'll have to find a second best route." Heero was not going to send one of his kids into the very probably heavily guarded facility alone.

"Please hear me out?" Ven looked at his tousan pleadingly. Juuni watched both of them in silence.

Heero sighed and nodded, indicating he would not interrupt again.

"I can do this. Dad has been training me in sneaking around, you know? I can steal stuff and return it without anybody noticing me at all most of the time! And you know how good I am at sneaking around avoiding you and Dad when I don't want to go to bed yet." The last part he said with a smirk, but his voice was completely serious.

"This is different, Ventuno," Heero pointed out. "If you get captured here, the consequences will be a bit worse than when you stay up past bedtime."

Ven swallowed, and nodded. "I know. But I won't let myself get captured. For Dad and Sifir's sake." Meeting his tousan's eyes, he looked the most mature Heero had ever seen him. "Please, Tousan."

Heero hated this. He hated that these people took his partner and son. He hated that his other children were being forced to grow up faster to deal with it. He hated his own inability to prevent it all from happening.

However, he recognized that it was unavoidable. Sighing again, he gave in. "Fine." Ven's face showed excitement, but before he could say anything, Heero continued. "You will go in as slowly as necessary to make as little noise as possible. Once in, you will make your way to the front doors and unlock them. We will take care of the guards outside. You are to avoid confrontation at all costs, but if you are discovered, use the tranq gun before they can report back. And under _no circumstances_ are you to attempt to rescue your dad or Sifir on your own. Understood?"

Ven nodded. "Mission accepted."

Heero held his gaze for another few seconds, making sure his instructions had sunk in. He then lead the boy to the ventilation tunnel, Juuni following along silently.

After Heero removed the cover from the shaft, Ven climbed in, looking back for only a moment.

Breaking her unusual silence, Juuni whispered to her brother, "Good luck." Her eyes held a combination of worry and pride.

"Good luck, Ven," Heero warned his son. When the boy turned to disappear down the dark tunnel, he added in a whisper, "Be careful."

~~~~~~~~

"Well? Where is Maxwell?" Green eyes flashed, promising a horrible punishment if the proper answer was not given.

Wong looked at his superior, trying very hard not to betray his nervousness. "He's dead, Sir. You can proceed with the kid's training."

The blond man looked at Wong suspiciously for a moment, the nodded. "Very good. Dismissed."

Wong saluted his superior, then exited the office. The instant the door shut behind him, he allowed himself a huge sigh of relief. _ I wasn't lying_, he told himself. _I was just telling the truth early…_[2]

Upon waking, he and the other two guards had agreed that it was in all of their best interests not to inform their superiors of Maxwell's escape. All three would confirm the story that the man was taken outside and shot, the body hidden deep in the woods. They were incredibly lucky that apparently no one had happened upon them as they lay unconscious in the hallway.

Now all they needed to do was find that damn escaped prisoner and make their lie into a truth.

~~~~~~~~

Duo stared at the ventilation tunnel. If he could fit into that, he would have almost full access to the facility, and finding Sifir would be a piece of cake. If.

He removed the cover, then got down on hands and knees to climb inside. When his shoulders hit the top of the shaft, he sighed and stood. He could have fit if he really tried, but his maneuverability would be nil, and that could end up complicating matters instead of helping. _Getting myself stuck in the middle of a tunnel somewhere would definitely put a cramp in this whole escape idea, not to mention be embarrassing as hell_, he thought to himself.

Sighing, Duo resigned himself to wandering the halls in search of his son, hoping not to run into any more guards. He placed the cover back on the vent, then headed back down the corridor.

~~~~~~~~

Ven froze. He thought he'd heard something up ahead. It sounded like… like a vent cover being removed! Had someone realized he was in here?

Keeping as still as possible, barely even breathing, he listened for any more sounds. There was a bit of a shuffling sound, then the sound of the vent being closed.

Ven mentally breathed a sigh of relief. Either they'd heard something but then figured it was their imagination, or the vent had been opened for some other reason. Whatever the explanation, he waited until he heard footsteps leaving the area, then continued on toward the front doors.

~~~~~~~~

"Sir. He. Is. Not. Ready." Dr. White spoke through gritted teeth. She was itching to pull out her gun and shoot something, but knew she would get severely reprimanded for such an action. Especially seeing as her superior would be the most likely target of her attack.

Calm green eyes stared back at her, looking almost amused at her fury. "Whether or not he is emotionally prepared is insignificant. He _will_ do it. Stage 10 has already been put into motion."

Her anger was immediately replaced with worry. She swallowed, forcing herself to maintain her composure. "What do you mean, put into motion?"

Her superior smirked. "The boy's father has been killed."

Dr. White's face paled. She didn't feel anything but a grudging respect for Maxwell, but her heart ached in pity for Sifir. The boy would be crushed… and infuriated. Stage 10 could very well succeed, but at what cost to Sifir's psyche?

However, she realized she had no choice in the matter. Nodding in resignation, she asked, "What are my orders now, Sir?"

After he explained what was to take place, Dr. White headed back to the training area from which she'd been called away. Sifir waited there patiently for her, though she could tell he was nervous by the glances he kept giving the guards. "What training will I be doing today?"

The doctor swallowed, unsure how to break the news to him. Instead of speaking, she handed him a gun.

The boy looked at the weapon held loosely in his grasp, then looked up at her in fear.

~~~~~~~~  
TBC  
~~~~~~~~

Footnotes:

[1] Knew that paperclip would come in handy…

[2] Tori came up with this line, and seems to enjoy it a bit too much… :)

Coauthor Rant: Guten Tag! We're back from our spectacular world tour involving Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, and fifteen minutes in Slovakia and we're bringing the next part of Kazoku back with us! Yay! With our Hungary trip out of the way, our work load should (theoretically) lighten somewhat, but I wouldn't hold your breath for an improvement in speed...especially since I was struck by a new fic idea in Budapest that is now eating my time and brain power. But we had a great time, so hooray! I also brought back a ton of junk...I went with one checked bag and one carry-on and returned with two checked bags and two carry-ons. Ugh. But Budapest is unbelievably beautiful and I loved it! Vienna was okay...not as impressive as I'd expected. Hungary is great though, I suggest you visit!

In other news...not much. Jet lag. The ever-growing stress of being the campus tv station weather girl. I got a new shirt that says "McLenin's - the Taste of Communism" and it cracks me up. Anyway.

And I do love the line 'I'm not lying, I'm telling the truth early.' I use it all the time. So there :P 

Hope all our readers have/had a wonderful spring break and you keep enjoying our lil fic!


	11. In which Sifir gets really pissed

Apologies for the longish time between updates, I've been rather lazy as of late. :( Anyway, thanks to Shichan (yes, paperclip goooood... :) ) and Sparda (who wonderfully inspired Tori-chan to do a ton of work on her pic). Enjoy this next part!

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Chapter 11 (In which Sifir gets really pissed)  
~~~~~~~~

Hidden behind some bushes, Heero watched the doors carefully, waiting for any indication that they might be opening soon. Though most of his attention was on the doors, he also peripherally kept an eye on Juuni, and listened for signs of other people nearby.

Juuni, for her part, sat quietly beside her tousan. She watched him more than anything else, wondering how he could be so calm during all this. Dad, Sifir, and now Ven were in _danger_! She wanted to race in there, find her father and brothers, and come out shooting. But Tousan just sat there calmly waiting.

Despite his outwardly relaxed appearance, Heero was anything but calm. He'd been trying hard to slip into his perfect soldier mode, but found himself unable to do so. Perhaps it was his lack of necessity for such emotionally detached concentration in the past several years, but whatever the reason, it was bothering him. His worry for his family couldn't get in the way of their rescue.

Finally, the doors opened.

~~~~~~~~

The blond man stared at the young man before him. "You understand what you are to do, Hanaoka?"

"Yes, Sir." The Japanese man stood at full attention, not looking at all worried about his mission. His last mission.

"I hate to lose you, you've been very loyal, but this mission requires that loyalty. I would have preferred Wong to fulfill it, but we've been unable to locate him since he reported Maxwell's execution."

"If you don't mind me saying, Sir," Hanaoka offered, "Wong hardly seems willing to die for our cause. He probably ran once he realized what you had planned."

The blond nodded. "If he has deserted, I'm sure he realizes he will die once he's caught."

The Japanese man looked as if he wanted to comment, but remained silent.

"I'll put out an alert for everyone to be on the lookout for Wong. You are dismissed to carry out your orders. Your name will be respected by everyone working for our cause for this."

"Thank you, Sir." Hanaoka bowed and left the office.

~~~~~~~~

Heero led the way stealthily into the building, eyes and ears alert to anyone approaching, while also making sure Juuni and Ven followed closely and quietly behind him. The kids were armed with their taser and dart gun, while he held his own weapon. He hated bringing the kids in with him, but felt they were safer with him, even in enemy territory, than out in the car where anyone could find them.

Upon entering the building, he had finally felt himself slip into the calm of his soldier mode. Hearing footsteps and voices around the corner, he gestured for the kids to duck into a nearby closet. Stepping in behind them and closing the door, he listened to the approaching voices.

"I can't believe the Commander has half this base out looking for one guy."

"Didn't you hear? It's not just him."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, they think there are two others with him. Orders are shoot on sight."

"We're supposed to kill them all? I can't believe…"

The voices faded out and Heero could no longer hear them.

He closed his eyes and swore inwardly. _Kuso. How the hell did they realize they were in here so soon? We're just lucky they're apparently not doing a very thorough sweep, or they'd have checked this closet for sure. The one thing that doesn't compute is the orders to kill on sight. I was certain they would appreciate the opportunity for more hostages._

Once he was certain it was safe, he opened the door and stepped out. Ven and Juuni did not follow. He looked back in at them.

"We have to get moving," he commanded harshly. Since he was in soldier mode, not father mode, the petrified looks on their faces barely registered.

"Are—are they gonna kill us, Tousan?" Ven asked, arms wrapped tightly around his sister. Juuni was likewise squeezing her older brother, eyes wide in fear.

The panicky tone pleaded for attention from Heero's parental side, but Heero refused to give in. _This is neither the time nor the place for consoling frightened children_, he told himself.

_But having your kids too terrified to move isn't going to help the rescue any, either,_ his father voice countered.

Heero compromised, mostly to stop the irritating internal dialogue. "No. I will protect you," he said in a slightly less severe tone. "But we have to protect your father and brother, too, so we really have to get moving. And I can't risk leaving you two here alone, since they _are_ searching for us. So are you two going be able to handle this?"

Ven took a deep breath, then nodded confidently. Juuni gave a hesitant nod of her own, then the two released the hug and stepped out of the closet.

The three continued on more cautiously, searching for their missing family members.

~~~~~~~~

Dr. White turned when she heard the door open, and a Japanese man stepped in.

_Damn, Hanaoka,_ she thought. _This guy's so loyal he's not only going to be willing to die like this, he's gonna enjoy it, too._ She felt Sifir's eyes on her, but refused to look at him, knowing there was no way she'd be able to comfort the boy anyway.

"Hello, Sifir," Hanaoka greeted. He motioned for the four guards to leave, so the only people in the room were himself, Dr. White, and Sifir.

The boy looked up defiantly. "You think you're gonna make me kill someone, don't you? Well, I won't. You can't make me."

The man shrugged. "I suppose I can't. But if I were in your position, I would fully appreciate the opportunity to get revenge."

Sifir looked confused. "Revenge?"

Hanaoka continued as if uninterrupted. "I mean, I was quite upset when my own father was murdered in front of me…" he stated casually.

Sifir's face paled, and he drew in a shaky breath. "No…"

Still ignoring the boy, the Japanese man continued. "I would have given anything for the chance to pay back the man who killed him. You have that chance."

Dr. White felt nothing but compassion and pity for the boy as he jerkily shook his head. "No…" he repeated.

"No?" Hanaoka asked, finally acknowledging the boy's response. "No, you're not going to kill me, even though I killed your father?"

~~~~~~~~

Duo ducked behind a corner, hearing voices approaching.

"So how come we're looking for this doctor guy anyway?"

He searched for a good hiding place, but couldn't find any. Finally finding a small table to duck behind, he listened in curiosity to the conversation.

"Apparently he disappeared after killing Maxwell." Chuckling. "Too chicken to face the kid, I guess…"

As the voices faded, Duo thought about what he'd overheard. _Guess Wong lied about killing me; now he's gotta hide in case they find out I'm not as dead as they thought. And chances are they'll realize that once I get Sifir out of here._

He felt his stomach flip-flop as he realized something. _Sifir. Shit. Since they do think I'm dead, they're gonna follow through with his training… I have to find him ASAP. God, I hope he's okay…_

~~~~~~~~

"NO!!" Sifir cried. His hands tightened around the gun, barrel moving up toward the man, but Dr. White had a feeling the boy wasn't conscious of his movements. "No, he's not dead, he can't be dead…"

Dr. White was starting to get annoyed with the other man's shrug. Still, she was under orders to merely observe this confrontation, no matter what happened.

"Believe what you want," Hanaoka stated cheerfully. "If it helps, he said he loved you before I blew his brains out."

Suddenly, a fire ignited in Sifir's eyes. While the ice cold he'd shown a few times earlier had bothered her, the look of intense hatred he held now was so fierce that, for the first time she could remember, Dr. White truly feared for her life.

And the look—and gun—weren't even trained on her. Hanaoka's expression displayed merely a look of satisfaction—and anticipation.

Dr. White concluded that the man was most definitely certifiably insane.

"You killed my father." In sharp contrast the childlike whimpering of just moments before, Sifir's voice was now dripping with venom, promising a long, horrible, painful death. "Omae o korosu."

Dr. White shivered as Hanaoka merely smiled. "Good."

~~~~~~~~  
TBC  
~~~~~~~~

Coauthor Rant: My name is Inigo Montoya! You killed my father! Prepare to die! 

Ahem. Sorry. Couldn't resist. :)

Anyway, news on the Tori front: I broke my foot. Owie. Okay, not really, it's just sprained, but it still hurts. See, I was being an idiot and sparring with someone from another style of martial arts without warming up or stretching or anything, so naturally I fell. I was being stupid, but now we know what'll happen if I ever get mugged...I'm toast. 

Enough whining. Time for some updates! Thanks to Sparda's encouragement (thanks bud!) I got to work on the next pic. It is now completely colored and awaiting shading. So nearly finished! Yay! Though it took me forever to make Sifir stop looking like a leprechaun...Anyway, thanks a bunch Sparda! Other news: Nexus update coming up soon (shameless plug). Whee!

In case you were wondering, let's have that quote one more time, in Japanese: Ore no na wa Yuy Sifir. Tousan o koroshita. Kakugo shiro.

^_^


	12. In which Sifir passes a test

Thanks to our ever-loyal reviewers, Sparda and Shichan, and our new reviewer IchigoPocky! Mmm... strawberry pocky...

Oh, and apologies for the delay in updates. Four papers due in four days is a bad thing. Next chapter should be out sooner.

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Chapter 12 (In which Sifir passes a test)  
~~~~~~~~

Heero continued quietly along the corridor, keeping Ven and Juuni close behind him. Suddenly a door opened up ahead, and four people in uniform exited. He shoved his kids as quietly as he could behind the closest corner, then realized the four were walking the other way down the hall. Keeping himself mostly hidden behind the corner, he kept an eye on them, attempting to see what was in that room. However, he could determine nothing from his vantage point.

Still, his instincts were telling him there was something important about that room. Once the four who had exited had turned another corner and he deemed them out of hearing range, he motioned for Juuni and Ven to follow him and remain very quiet. He stopped outside the door that had recently closed and listened.

An unfamiliar voice. "If it helps, he said he loved you before I blew his brains out."

Heero felt a small hand grip his tightly, and looked down into Ven's wide eyes. He wanted to offer reassurance, but he felt just as concerned about the statement as his son looked. _Who…?_ he asked himself, not knowing if he wanted the answer. He continued listening to the voices behind the door.

A familiar voice spoke this time, but with unfamiliar venom. "You killed my father."

Heero felt his heart skip a beat. _No… Duo… Masaka... _[1] In his shock caused by those four words, he didn't hear the gasp from Ven, didn't see Juuni slap a hand to her mouth, didn't see both sets of horrified eyes pleading with him for denial.

Didn't hear the next words from the voice behind the door.

~~~~~~~~

"Omae o korosu."

"Good."

Sifir froze. The pleasure he heard in that statement set off warning bells, halting the waves of rage and determination he'd been feeling seconds earlier.

_He _wants _me to kill him. And I… I want to,_ he realized. _I need to avenge Dad. Don't I? It's what Tousan would do, right?_

He heard his father's words from just that morning… _ "Whatever your training involves, today or any other time, don't act against your morals. Don't allow harm to come to others, unless it is absolutely your only way out."_

_My life isn't in danger. But Dad is…_ Before he could bring himself to finish that thought, he had another realization.

"Prove it," Sifir said aloud.

The man before him, who had looked entirely too cheerful up until now, frowned slightly and drew his eyebrows together in confusion. "What?" 

"Prove to me that you killed my father," the boy stated with more calm than he was feeling. The man's reaction was leading him to believe he was onto something.

Recovering quickly, the man smiled once more. "I had figured I'd save you the torment of seeing his dead body. Trust me, it isn't pleasant." Despite his grin, there was something dark and disturbed in the man's gaze.

Peripherally, Sifir saw that Dr. White was confused by what he was doing. Not quite certain himself, Sifir still found himself unable to let go of this new hope. It wasn't much of one, but… he knew he couldn't just kill this man in cold blood, especially not if he had no proof that he was even guilty. "Show me," he stated.

The man was silent for a moment. While the smile was still present, Sifir sensed that the man was thinking furiously. "The body has probably already been disposed of."

By the hesitation and the excuse, the boy was fairly certain now that the man was bluffing. "How?" he questioned.

"Buried," the man replied slightly more quickly.

"In the hour or so since I've seen him you killed him and buried him?"

"We're very efficient." The man smirked.

Sifir had yet to be convinced. "Dig him up." He forced the horrible imagery that statement gave him back into his mind, telling himself the man was bluffing anyway.

There was another pause. Dr. White, who had been watching the boy's near-interrogation of the self-confident man, wondered who would win. Sifir thought far more quickly on his feet than a boy his age should be capable of doing. She realized that she herself had no actual proof that Maxwell was dead, and was starting to question what she'd been told.

"No."

"What?" Sifir asked, confused.

"No. If I just don't feel like shoveling dirt out of a grave, what do you plan to do with me?" The man smirked, "Kill me?"

Sifir blinked.

[2]

~~~~~~~~

Heero's initial shock and denial soon led to anger. He was about to burst into the room and rip the throat out of the man who had murdered his partner, when his soldier side kicked in again. _Don't take action until you know the situation,_ he told himself. He realized he had not been paying attention to anything said since Sifir's "You killed my father."

He listened once again, hearing his youngest question the whereabouts of his father's body. _What is he doing?_ Heero wondered.

"If I just don't feel like shoveling dirt out of a grave, what do you plan to do with me? Kill me?"

Heero was confused. Why would Sifir be in the position to control his captors? And his son was certainly not going to kill someone.

His eyes widened as he heard the clicking of a gun being cocked.

~~~~~~~~

Sifir thought quickly, not wanting to lose the control he had gained over the conversation. He had convinced himself he couldn't kill the man for revenge; he certainly couldn't threaten to do so to get proof, or the man would call his own bluff.

He couldn't _kill_ the man. Shooting him in the shoulder would undoubtedly persuade him to cooperate. And Sifir did know from his earlier testing that he was a good enough shot to wound without killing.

Despite his determination, his hands were trembling as he cocked the gun, preparing to fire a weapon a living being for the first time in his life.

~~~~~~~~

"Sifir! Stop!" Heero kicked the door in, gun ready just in case the situation was different than he'd determined.

Sifir's head whipped around to face the door. Somehow, he prevented his finger from tightening on the trigger in surprise. Arm with the gun dropping forgotten to his side, he stared in shock. "Tousan?" His voice was small and childlike once again.

Heero wanted to race to his son and check him over, but the soldier in him kept him just inside the door, gun trained on the unknown man and woman in the room. "Sifir, are you all right?" 

Instead of answering, Sifir ran to his Japanese father, wrapping his arms around his tousan's legs. His small form began to shake as he buried his head into the fabric of the pants.

Allowing his left hand to fall to the boy's head, Heero attempted to comfort the boy as best he could without lowering his weapon from the other man and woman. Both were staring at him in shock; neither was armed.

He heard small footsteps behind him, and knew Ven and Juuni were hesitantly entering. Figuring they were safer in here than alone in the corridor, he instructed them, "Come in and close the door."

Sifir looked up to see the newcomers. He slowly detached himself from his tousan as his sister and brother approached.

"Sifir!" Juuni cried, and wrapped her arms around her still-trembling younger brother. "You're okay!"

Ven silently pulled both his younger siblings into a hug, but looked up questioningly at his tousan.

Heero looked at his three children comforting one another, then turned to the man he had heard through the door. "Where is Duo Maxwell?" he demanded.

The man appeared to have gotten over his shock, and was back to being smug. "In an unmarked grave out back. Didn't you hear through the door?"

Not deeming that answer worth a response, Heero turned to the woman. "Where is Duo Maxwell?"

She looked at him seriously. "I don't know. They told me they killed him; now I'm not sure."

He studied her for a moment, then nodded. "I believe you." He looked around the room for something to tie up the two. Finding nothing with a cursory glance, he ordered, "Turn around, both of you."

The man snorted. "So you can knock us out? I'd rather you shoot me in front of your kids. Teach them the harsh realities of life."

Without a look back at his children, Heero walked right up to the man, raised his gun, and slammed it down hard into the side of the man's neck. The man dropped to the floor, out cold.

As Heero turned to the woman, he heard a quiet voice from behind him. "Don't hurt her."

He looked back toward his youngest son, startled.

"Please, Tousan?" Sifir begged. His older siblings looked at him, then at their tousan.

Heero looked back at the woman, who met his eyes.

"Take me with you," she offered.

"Why?" he asked without inflection. He was curious as to what her motivations were, what loyalties to this organization she had.

"I can help you search for Maxwell, help you get out of here," she suggested.

"Why?" Heero asked again.

She sighed, looking over toward his children—toward Sifir. There was a look of fondness in her eyes. "He doesn't belong here. He's just a boy. He shouldn't be forced to become a weapon, a killer; he should have a normal childhood with loving parents and siblings." She gave Heero a sad smile. "I had my reasons for being a part of this group, but I disagree with a lot of their methods lately. I can't stay here any longer. I want to help Sifir escape."

After listening to her story, Heero looked back at his son. "Sifir?"

"I believe her, Tousan. Dr. White was mostly nice to me." He paused, meeting his tousan's eyes with complete seriousness. "I trust her."

Nodding, Heero turned back to the woman. "Okay, you can come with us." At her slight smile, he added severely, "I do _not_ trust you. You are with us only because Sifir has faith in you, and because I believe you may be useful." He lowered his voice so the children couldn't hear, "If you betray us, I _will_ kill you."

Dr. White swallowed, but nodded solemnly. "Understood."

He turned back to his kids. "Ready to go find your dad?"

All three broke into smiles. "Yeah!" Juuni cried.

Heero gave a small smile, then lead his entourage out of the room, in search of their final missing family member.

~~~~~~~~

Cautiously making his way down the corridor, Duo began thinking about forming a plan. Just sneaking around trying to evade capture wasn't turning out to be the best strategy.

Soon, he came upon a door labeled "Security."

Any ordinary sane human being would be wary of such a room. Any ordinary sane human being would either move past the room as soon as possible, or find a different way around entirely.

Duo Maxwell was not any ordinary sane human being.

Grinning, he crept up to the door and listened carefully. Strangely hearing nothing, he cautiously opened the door a crack and peeked inside. There didn't appear to be anyone inside. He entered the room, shutting the door behind him.

The first thing he noticed was an array of screens, apparently depicting recordings of activities in various rooms of the building. He stepped forward to look more closely at the screens, when he tripped on something. Startled, he looked down at the either unconscious or dead body of one of the guards. _What the…?_

Movement on one of the screens caught his eye, and Duo looked up just in time to see an unfamiliar Japanese man being knocked out by a very familiar Japanese man.

"My Heero to the rescue…" Duo stated to himself happily, noting his kids were apparently now in the safe hands of their tousan.

"Guess I shouldn't kill you right away, then."

Duo whirled around. There stood Dr. Wong, gun aimed directly at Duo's chest.

Only one thought came to the braided boy's mind:

"Shit."

~~~~~~~~  
TBC  
~~~~~~~~

[1] "Masaka" = "Impossible"

[2] First section ever that shows Sifir's thoughts at all. Weird, huh? I don't know that boy enough to know what he's thinking… And Tori and I created him!

Coauthor Rant: Buwahaha! Just when you thought it was safe to read the next part, another cliffhanger! Ha ha! Sorry for the long wait last time, folks, but we came down with a case of ADD - Approaching Deadline Disorder. Too many projects and papers due to even breathe. (And before you ask, I'm still alive because I have evolved beyond the need for any pathetic gases). But it did make our updates late. The picture is still where it was - colored but unshaded - but it will be done soon, I promise! A Nexus update is coming soon too, for those of you who care. In other news, I have a bug bite on my hand. It itches.

That's all for now! Tune in next week for another Tale of Interest!


	13. In which we give you yet another cliffha...

Hey all! Thanks for the reviews again, Shichan (glad to know you like Dr. White; I was worried about whether people would hate her or like her) and Sparda (vengeancy goodness on its way!). I think this is my favorite chapter yet... Enjoy! :)

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Chapter 13 (In which we give you yet another cliffhanger)  
~~~~~~~~

Dr. White watched Yuy in action as he stealthily moved down the corridor, glancing back every few seconds to make sure all three kids were behind him, and presumably to be sure that she wasn't acting against them in any way. She had no intentions to do so, however. She had told Sifir's Japanese father the truth: while she had felt loyalty to her organization in the past, the last few days had convinced her otherwise. Now she really did wish to help the bright young boy who had been in her care get out of here safely.

They had discussed plans for locating Maxwell. Dr. White had offered to take the kids either outside the building or to a secure room on the premises, but, as she'd predicted, Yuy had rejected that offer with a glare. He had no reason to trust her with the lives of his three children. Despite the benefits his being alone would give the search, it wasn't worth the risks. So the five of them were left to investigate the place systematically, with Dr. White attempting to give helpful advice on where the missing Maxwell might be.

They had checked the cell first, just in case. As they'd expected, it was empty. While her superior had informed her that the man had been killed, Sifir's questioning of Hanaoka indicated something suspicious. Could the execution have been fouled up somehow, and Maxwell escaped? In that case, she realized there was a possibility those in charge would simply attempt to go through with Sifir's Stage 10 anyway. Dr. White hoped that was the case.

The only problem with that was actually _finding_ the man. On the run, he would be just as hard for his family to find him as for her organization to do so. And she was willing to bet that, as a former Gundam pilot, Maxwell would be rather difficult to catch.

~~~~~~~~

"Who would have thought catching you would be this simple?"

Duo assumed Wong was asking that question rhetorically. He did agree, however; he had been a complete idiot. He knew the man who'd been sent to kill him was on the run; the body on the floor should have set off alarms in his head immediately. But the distraction of seeing that Heero was here and Sifir was safe caught him off guard just long enough for Wong to get the drop on him again.

"You realize that if you do anything to me, my Hee-chan's gonna be pretty upset with you?" Duo informed the smirking man holding the gun on him.

Wong shrugged. "I was planning to phrase it slightly differently, actually. Either he helps me escape here unscathed, or I kill you."

_Is this guy suicidal, or just stupid? Probably that second one…_ Duo thought to himself. "He's not going to like that."

"He doesn't have to like it," Wong replied confidently. "He just has to do what I say."

_Geez, you try to warn a guy…_ Duo rolled his eyes at the man's utter ignorance of the wrath of a pissed Heero Yuy.

~~~~~~~~

Heero was pissed. The relief of finding Sifir safe had worn off, leaving only worry for his partner. That worry had rapidly turned into frustration, as he wanted to just find Duo so he could get the kids out of here as soon as possible. Dr. White's presence, while she might prove to be useful, also presented him with an unknown. While he wanted to trust his son's judgment of her, it simply wasn't worth the risk.

He was about to turn the next corner when a vehemently whispered voice stopped him.

"Wait!"

He turned back to look at Dr. White, his eyes asking her what the problem was.

"That hallway is probably filled with guards." When she noticed Heero seemed to desire more of an explanation, she sighed. "The MS bay is in that direction."

Ven and Juuni looked up at her curiously. Sifir watched his tousan in silence.

Heero's eyes widened for a moment, before he realized he shouldn't be surprised. This probably was the radical group he'd read up on the night before, and the converted areas he'd seen from outside before were large enough to hold several mobile suits. Still, the existence of those now-illegal machines meant they had yet another objective before leaving the area. _After_ finding Duo.

Heero nodded, then asked, "Where do you suggest we search next, then?" He didn't want to think about the possibility that Duo, assuming he'd escaped at all, had headed in that direction and been captured once more, or been simply shot on sight. He would rather exhaust all other possibilities before investigating that route.

Dr. White furrowed her eyebrows in thought for a moment, then met Heero's eyes once more. "We could check out Security," she suggested, knowing not to phrase any advice like an order. "There will be several guards, but we might be able to find some trace of him on the security cameras."

He nodded again and gestured for her to lead the way. He was about to follow her when he heard Juuni gasp. She pointed wordlessly behind his back, and he spun around to find two guards just turning the corner.

Swearing silently, Heero thought quickly. He grabbed Dr. White and held his gun to her head. "Weapons down or your good doctor dies." He was grateful to see Ven pull his two younger siblings so all three were behind their tousan's back and out of the line of fire. He did not miss the worried look on Sifir's face.

The guards seemed rather startled to find the intruders standing right before them, but recovered quickly, bringing their weapons to bear on the apparent hostage situation.

"I said weapons _down_!" Heero commanded.

The ferocity of his voice caused both to flinch, but neither lowered his gun.

"Please, he's going to kill me," Dr. White begged as the gun to her head was cocked. "He's already killed several others, please, put your guns down!"

Heero realized she was playing along wonderfully. He fought the urge to smirk, as that might render her acting job pointless.

Looking unsure, the two finally dropped their weapons to the floor. He began to walk backwards toward the closest corner, having confidence that his kids were doing the same. "Follow us and she dies," he warned.

They were almost to the corner when he saw one of the guards pull a second gun from a hidden pocket and bring it up. Heero tried to turn his own weapon on the man, but was too slow.

BANG!

He winced as the bullet grazed his upper right arm, nearly causing him to lose grip on the weapon. Before he could react, he heard two more sudden sounds from behind him.

POP!

ZZZT!

Both guards dropped to the ground and didn't move.

Eyes wide, Heero released the just-as-startled doctor and whirled around.

Ven and Juuni were both looking between their respective weapons and the unconscious men behind their tousan.[1]

Sifir was staring at his older siblings in admiration. Dr. White appeared to be in shock. Heero recovered first.

"Nice shots, both of you," he congratulated his oldest two, smiling slightly.

Both looked up suddenly, as if just realizing he was there. Ven gave a half smile, half smirk, then looked at Juuni's taser and frowned. He grabbed it and shoved his own dart gun into her lax hand. "I want the one that zaps people," he mumbled.

"Hey!" Juuni shouted. "Tousan, make him—" she cut off her complaint as her eyes fell on his arm. "Tousan, you got shot!"

Blinking, Heero glanced at his sluggishly bleeding wound. "It's just a graze; I'll be fine." He looked back at the unconscious guards. "We should get going, in case someone heard the shots."

Dr. White seemed to have finally snapped out of it. "You're right. Security's this way," she gestured, and the troop was once again on the hunt for Duo Maxwell.

~~~~~~~~

Duo was getting annoyed. Wong had forced him to sit facing away from the security cameras, while the man himself watched with exaggerated facial expressions whatever was going on elsewhere in the building. Duo thought all the other man needed was a big bag of popcorn instead of a gun in his hand and he'd be the perfect picture of a movie-viewing audience member.

"Some kids you got there," Wong commented, after some particularly intrigued-looking expressions.

At the mention of his kids, Duo reflexively started to turn to see what was going on. A gunshot right to the side of his leg stalled that motion immediately.

He was getting excessively frustrated with this guy. "Look, all I want is to see if my family is okay. Is that so much to ask?"

Wong shrugged. "Seem okay to me." He glanced up at the screen, then back at Duo. "Huh, looks like they're headed this way, too. Ready for a nice little family reunion?" he asked, gesturing with his weapon.

Despite the motion that he assumed was meant to be intimidating, Duo couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief. Soon, this would all be over.

Heero was coming to save the day.

~~~~~~~~

When they reached the security office, Heero put his ear to the door to listen.

"Please, Yuy, come in."

He jerked back in surprise. He certainly hadn't expected to hear _that_. It then occurred to him that perhaps leaning against the door had not been the most brilliant idea: glancing down the hallway, he saw the camera that no doubt relayed his image to a screen just inside this very door. He'd been lucky that those inside hadn't just shot at him through the door.

Slowly, he opened the door, weapon at the ready.

His eyes hardened as they fell upon a man holding a gun to Duo's head, other hand gripping the chestnut braid. Heero ran his gaze along his partner's body, checking for any obvious injuries. Satisfied enough with his search, he met Duo's eyes.

When their eyes locked, so much emotion was shared that Heero felt he could never tear his gaze away. Still, somehow he managed to meet the eyes of his partner's captor. "Let him go."

Peripherally, he saw the others file in behind him, but he kept his attention on the two before him.

The man looked at the new arrivals. "Joined the enemy, have you, Dr. White?"

"Failed your assignment and trying to weasel your way out of here, are you, Dr. Wong?" she shot back.

Not wanting this to turn into a verbal sparring match between White and Wong [2], Heero ordered again, "Let him go."

"I'll let him go if you get me out of here safely," Dr. Wong argued. "Like White said, my own people are after me."

"If you hurt him, I will kill you," Heero stated flatly. "Let him go."

"Told you so, Wong buddy." Duo smirked.

"Shut up," Wong growled, then shrugged. "He's not going to do anything that bad to me with his kids watching."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "Out," he commanded the children shortly.

Wong looked nervous for a second, then masked it. "My organization is after your kids, too, remember. You're going to leave them out there alone? Or maybe with that turncoat?" He glared at Dr. White, who glared right back.

Heero hated the fact that he agreed with the man. Fighting the urge to sigh, he pulled out one of his spare guns with his free hand. "Ven, give the taser to Sifir," he instructed, handing the spare gun to his oldest son.

"Hey, he took that from _me_!" Juuni argued. "Sifir can have this, _I'll_ take that one!" She shoved the dart gun at her younger brother.

"_I'm_ the oldest," Ven retorted, thrusting the taser at the boy.

Sifir just looked warily at both weapons as if they were live grenades. Heero supposed it might have something to do with the fact that he had nearly been talked into killing someone minutes earlier.

"It doesn't matter, all you have to do is get me out of here," Wong interjected, but no one seemed to be listening.

"You two are both kids; _I_—"—Dr. White saw Heero's glare aimed at her—"—don't expect to be trusted with that, though." Heero nodded at her.

"_I'm_ the one you should be paying attention to!" Wong protested. He was still ignored.

Heero grabbed the taser, forced it into Sifir's barely willing hand, and pushed the lethal gun into Ven's hand, all while keeping the gun in his right hand trained on Wong. "Only if _absolutely_ _necessary_," he commanded his oldest.

Ven nodded solemnly.

Suddenly a gasp was heard, followed by "Itai!!"

Everyone looked up at Duo, whose braid had apparently been yanked by the frustrated Dr. Wong.

"I told you to pay attention to me," the doctor complained.

"I told _you_ that if you hurt him…" Heero his Death Glare remind the other man what the rest of his threat had been.

"Now you've done it, Wong buddy…" Duo announced. "Hee-chan's pissed."

Heero jerked his head toward the door. "Out. Now. White, you too."

As the kids left, they looked absolutely terrified. Duo didn't know if it was due to the gun to his own head or the ferocious look in their tousan's eyes.

As the door shut behind the four, Wong swallowed in fear.

~~~~~~~~

Outside the door, Ven, Juuni, and Sifir stood against the wall, too afraid to listen to what was going on behind the door. Dr. White stood across from them, watching for any coming guards.

There were a few nerve-wracking minutes of silence.

Then, a single gunshot.

~~~~~~~~  
TBC  
~~~~~~~~

[1] See! Ven and Juuni can do stuff! They're not just there as liabilities! Okay, fine, they kind of are, but they still managed to help out, so there!

[2] ::authors sweatdrop::

Coauthor Rant: Buwahahahaha! White and Wong! Man, I really crack myself up sometimes... (Rey: Hey! I came up with that! Tori: So what? Shut up and get back to work!) Anyway, another cliffhanger! Ha! But since school's out in only two short weeks, I'm thinking we're going to have to hurry up and get out the rest of this fic before summer! Rey's going back home and I'm going out to Arizona (National Solar Observatory! Whoot!) so work over the summer is kinda hard. Oh well. We'll get it done, never fear! It's just been rough recently, what with tests and projects and martial arts. But we're back! Sorry, no progress on the pic yet... don't kill me! I just had to finish up a sketch for something else first. I'll get to work on it soon, promise!

In other news, Taboo is much more fun to play if you use clues from fandoms. Nothing confuses your teammates like saying 'Quatre plays it, but it's not a violin' when they have noooo clue what you're talking about.

Pop Quiz: What instrument is it, and in what episode does Quatre play it? Guess right and win a prize! All right, you don't, you'll just get our admiration and respect. But hey, that's gotta be worth something, right?

Good luck with finals and the end of the year! 

I'll catch you on the flip side...


	14. In which everyone finally stops hanging ...

Thanks as always to our loyal Shichan (I swear, these gushing reviews of yours really help my low self-esteem... :) ) and Sparda (Happy Birthday!), and our new reviewer, Gayln! (Just to clarify, Whenever Duo has Ven "steal" something, they do always return it. He doesn't encourage true thievery.)

Almost done here, folks! After this, just the epilogue... Enjoy!

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Chapter 14 (In which everyone finally stops hanging from that darn cliff)  
~~~~~~~~

The door opened, and Duo and Heero stepped out. Immediately, Duo was mauled by three young children, all of whom wrapped themselves around his legs.

He grinned. "What, didn't trust your tousan to get me out of there okay?" He ruffled each child's hair, then turned to his partner, smirking. "After all, he was known as the 'Perfect Soldier.'" Suddenly noticing the other's arm, Duo's eyes widened. "Hee-chan, you're bleeding!" He raced to his partner's side and examined the wound.

It was Heero's turn to smirk. "What, don't you think the Perfect Soldier can handle a little flesh wound?"

Duo playfully glared at him. "Oh, right. A man who will set his own broken bones shouldn't have trouble with a minor bullet hole, right?"

Ven looked up at his tousan admiringly. "You set your own broken bones?"

"Cool!" Juuni agreed. After a moment of thinking about it, she amended, "Actually, that sounds kinda gross…"

"That's what I thought when I had to watch him do it," Duo told her, then looked back up to Heero mischievously. "So, Mr. Perfect-Soldier-It's-Just-A-Flesh-Wound, think a kiss will make it all better?"

Heero raised an eyebrow. "I don't know; why don't you test it and see?"

Their lips met, and soon the kiss became a passionate outpouring of all the worries, stresses, and fears both men had endured in the past few days.

"Ewww, parents aren't supposed to _kiss_!!"

Juuni's cry broke the two apart, as Duo began laughing. His eyes met Heero's in amusement, and the other's look promised that the kiss treatment would be further explored later in privacy.

"You don't seem to mind when Uncle Trowa and Auntie Quatre kiss," Ven told his sister.

"That's different, I don't know…" she trailed off. Then, realizing what he'd said, she burst out in indignation, "Hey! He's _ Uncle_ Quatre! He's a _boy_!!"

"Well, he sounds like a girl, he wears pink…"

"Ven_tu_no! Tousan, make Ven stop calling _Uncle_ Quatre 'Auntie'!"

Heero smirked. "Well, he is kind of…"

"Hee-chan!" Duo interjected. "In case you hadn't noticed, you're gay, too, you know!"

"Well, it would put a bit of a crimp in our relationship if I wasn't, wouldn't it?" Heero retorted.

"As much as I hate to interrupt this loving family reunion," Dr. White broke in, "Might I suggest that we get out of here relatively quickly, as there are still people after us?"

The bickering stopped as Heero and Duo realized she was right.

"What are you doing with us, anyway, White?" Duo asked as the party began heading towards the exit.

"I… decided I was on the wrong side," she answered truthfully. She glanced at the youngest in the group. "I guess part of it was my getting too close to Sifir," she added quietly. "My superior even warned me against it, but I couldn't help it. He's… he's a wonderful child; I realized I didn't want to take his childhood away from him."

Duo looked at her appraisingly. "You made the right choice," he told her.

Dr. White gave him a smile, glad he apparently believed her good intentions.

Suddenly, Heero stopped walking. When Duo looked at him in concern, he stated, "The MS bay."

"MS bay?"

"We keep several mobile suits here," Dr. White explained, realizing they probably wouldn't be leaving quite yet.

"We can't just leave it and let the Preventors deal with it later, can we?" Duo asked with a grimace.

Heero sighed. "You get the kids out of here; I'll take care of—"

"By yourself?" Duo interrupted. "When everyone here is already on alert for intruders? No way, Hee-chan."

Ven, Juuni, and Sifir were silent through this, watching the adults try to figure something out.

"I could assist him," Dr. White suggested.

Duo met Heero's eyes, but spoke to White. "It's not that I don't want to trust you, Doc, but—"

Suddenly Heero's eyes widened, and he rose a hand for silence.

Duo froze. Listening intently, he heard footsteps approaching. Cursing mentally, he saw there was no place for any of them to hide. He motioned for Heero to stay with the kids and Dr. White while he took care of the approaching enemy.

Heero glared and shook his head vehemently, silently letting Duo know that the braided man should be the one to stay behind. But Duo simply shook his head and turned the corner before Heero could stop him.

In tense silence, the Japanese man waited for gunfire, hoping with all his heart that his only recently rescued partner would return unharmed.

A moment later, the uneasy quiet was broken. "Maxwell!"

Heero blinked in surprise. He knew that voice.

"Wuffie! Quat! Tro-man!"

Hearing his partner's jubilant voice announcing the presence of their friends, Heero gestured for Dr. White and his now grinning kids to follow him around the corner.

"You're okay! Where are—?" Quatre broke off his question as the others came into sight.

"Are you all okay?" Trowa asked, just before noticing the blood on Heero's arm. He looked at the Japanese man in concern.

Heero shrugged. "Relatively."

The kids ran over to hug their "uncles," who all wore looks of relief at finding the family intact.

Wufei noticed Dr. White and eyed her suspiciously. "Who's the woman?" he asked.

Duo looked at her, then back to his fellow ex-pilots. "Guys, this is Dr. White. She used to be on the bad guys' side, but then saw the error of her ways," he explained with a grin. "Dr. White, these are Quatre Winner, Trowa Barton, and the grumpy-looking guy is Wufei Chang."

The Chinese man glared at him. "I'll forgive that, only because you called me 'Wu_fei_' for once, Maxwell." Still eying White somewhat distrustfully, he asked, "Doctor?"

She stared back at him defiantly. "Got a problem with female doctors?"

"Yes; they're all stubborn, arrogant meddlers," Wufei retorted.

Duo grinned. "Troubles with the wifey?"

Wufei turned his glare on the braided man. "Do you have any idea how much convincing it took to get her to stay with the kids while I came with these two to save you guys?" He snorted. "Though it looks like we got here too late to do anything."

Heero and Duo exchanged glances. "Actually…" Duo began with a grin.

~~~~~~~~

"What's taking them so long?" Juuni asked worriedly.

"They'll be out soon," Duo assured his daughter.

Heero, Duo, the three kids, and Dr. White were all waiting by the car a safe distance outside the facility. Trowa's car was parked nearby. Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei had been sent in to destroy the mobile suits in the building. The Preventors had been called and a team would be sent in later to take care of the rebel organization, but authorization had been given for the illegal mobile suits to be dispensed with immediately. This not only took care of the largest threat of the group, but also gave the three late arrivals a way to feel better about their inability to help with the actual rescue. So, armed with explosives from both parties' vehicles and pertinent inside information from Dr. White, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei were fulfilling the mission.

Heero had intended to bring the kids and his partner home, but they had insisted on waiting for the others to get out. As long as they stayed alert and out of sight, he figured it couldn't do any harm. Besides, then the others could take Dr. White to the Preventors to be questioned, while his family returned home for some much-deserved rest.

Finally, the observers in the car witnessed three forms moving stealthily away from the building.

"Where's the boom?" Ven asked them the instant the three men entered the clearing.

Looking rather amused, Trowa pulled out a small cylinder. "This will activate the explosives we placed around the mobile suits." As he moved to place his thumb over the switch, Quatre grabbed his arm.

"I wanna push the button," the blond implored.

Sighing and rolling his eyes, the green-eyed man handed the remote activator to his partner. "Yes, dear."

Quatre's eyes widened in anticipation. He began to laugh in a rather eerie manner, causing Duo, Heero, and Wufei to look at each other warily. Trowa just had a look of patient resignation.

The creepy laughter stopped, but Quatre's eyes were still shining with glee as he depressed the button.

Several nearly-simultaneous explosions echoed through the air. Smoke began billowing out of the converted sections of the building.

Looking entirely sane once again, Quatre handed the now-useless remote activator back to Trowa. "Shall we head out now?" he asked.

Ven, Juuni, and Sifir just stared at the blond, eyes wide in a combination of admiration and fear.

_Mental note,_ Ven thought to himself. _Never call him "Auntie Quatre" to his face…_

~~~~~~~~  
TBC  
~~~~~~~~

Coauthor Rant: Ta da! The last chapter of Kazoku is done! Hooray! But fear not, brave readers, for there is still an Epilogue to come! If only my lazy-ass coauthor would write it. *Whipcrack* Get to work Rey!

Rey: And how long did it take you to finish that picture?

Tori: That's irrelevant. Anyhoo, time for the announcement about last week's quiz. No one won! That's right. Sparda219 wins an imaginary dust bunny for correctly guessing Quatre's other instrument as the piano, but no one came up with the name of the episode. Well, my DVD-ROM has decided to rebel against my tyrannical rule and refused to play my Gundam Wing eps. So here's my answer: Episode 31, the Glass Kingdom. I could be wrong though.

Since nobody knows the answer, even me, I'll give you guys your prize anyway: The pic is done! Entitled 'Family Portrait', you can find it at: http:// reyzone .ramen43 .com/fic/kazoku/ kazokuphotos.htm

It took me just about a year to finish - with some pretty long delays along the way - so please go take a look at it!

Anyway, finals are coming up soon for us, so they must be approaching out there in readerland. Good luck!

And that's the way it is.

Additional note from Rey:

For some reason, fanfiction.net keeps puking at the above web address, so you'll have to delete the four spaces from the url. Sorry.


	15. Epilogue: In which warm fuzzies abound

Well, here's the epilogue, at last! Thanks so much to Shichan and Sparda for sticking with us the whole way through! I've had fun, I hope you guys did, too! :)

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Epilogue (In which warm fuzzies abound)  
~~~~~~~~

Duo stared down at his youngest son, wondering if the model colony Sifir was constructing would end up having artificial gravity. The boy simply amazed him.

More than his impressive engineering abilities, what impressed the braided man about his son was his ability to recuperate. It had only been a few weeks since their kidnapping, yet Sifir seemed fully recovered. Of course, there had been the expected nightmare or two, but overall he seemed mostly back to normal.

Well, not entirely normal for Sifir, Duo amended mentally. Indeed, the boy did appear to be behaving a bit more like an ordinary four-year-old boy since the ordeal. He didn't change in any major ways that would concern his fathers, but he did seem to spend a bit more time with his family, and play more with his older siblings. In fact, earlier that morning, he had been playing with Ven and Juuni, until he decided he'd had enough of their game of Ozzies and Gundam Pilots.

Speaking of Ven and Juuni, Duo wondered when he'd last seen his two oldest. They'd been out playing in the yard, but usually they ran back in through the house every once in a while. Besides, their uncles would be arriving soon, and the kids should be there to greet them.

Just as he was wondering if he should check on the kids, Juuni walked into the living room, wearing a self-satisfied smirk.

Duo eyed her suspiciously. "Juuni? Where's your older brother?"

Her smirk grew wider. "Hopefully right behind me. I set up a little welcoming gift for him at the front door…"

"For who, now?" Ven appeared in the other entrance to the room, looking suspiciously at his sister.

Seeing him enter from the wrong direction, Juuni protested, "Hey! You weren't supposed to go in through the back!!"

Duo heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and seconds later, Heero entered the room. "Wufei's here, I just saw his car pull up in the driveway."

Smiles appeared on all three kids' faces. "Uncle Wuffie!" Juuni cried joyfully, before her smile was replaced by a look of apprehension. "Uh-oh…"

Duo looked to her in confusion, then realization. "Uh, June-bug, what was that 'welcoming gift' you left for your brother?"

*CRASH!*

"By Nataku!"

Juuni gulped and turned to run to her room, but Duo grabbed her by her braid. "Uh-uh, not so fast…" He pulled her toward the front door. Intrigued, Heero, Ven, and Sifir followed to see what had happened.

When Duo threw open the door, he had to fight the urge not to burst out laughing at the sight before him. Ven didn't even try to hold in his amusement, and even Heero and Sifir were smirking. Juuni just appeared mortified by the scene she had caused.

Wufei was sitting on the front step. Sitting, because apparently he had slipped in the pile of blue foam--shaving cream, Duo realized--covering the steps. It seemed there had been multiple buckets of the froth, for there was a coating of it covering the Chinese man's dark hair and shirt, as well as his back and buttocks, from falling into it. Some suds dripped from his eyebrow onto his cheek as the man glared up at the highly amused family. "I will get you for this, Maxwell!"

Duo stopped laughing to look offended. "_Me_? I'm not the one who did it!" He pointed to his daughter and shoved her forward. "Juuni did it! Do what you want with the girl, but don't hurt me!" [1]

Juuni glared at her American father, but then turned to look penitently at the sud-covered man. "I'm sorry Uncle Wufei. I didn't mean to do that to you."

Nodding, Wufei assured her, "It's okay, girl. I believe you." He returned his glare to Duo. "It's your father I blame. Your genetics and upbringing caused this, Maxwell!!"

"_What? _Why _just _me, then? What about Hee-chan??" the braided man complained, shoving his partner forward this time, bringing the number of people to glare at Duo in the space of thirty seconds to three.

Wufei was not swayed. "_Heero _never painted Nataku pink. _Heero _ never hid my katana and replaced it with a toy lightsaber. _Heero _never--"

"Okay, I get the point, Fei-chan!" He looked behind the annoyed man to see another car pull into the driveway, and Trowa and Quatre stepped out. "Hey guys!"

Quatre grinned at them. "Hello, Duo, Heero, Ventuno, Juuni, Sifir… Wufei?"

Trowa's lips began to pull up at the corners. "Having trouble with that top step, Wufei?"

The foam-covered man redirected his glare. "Shut it, Barton."

Heero decided to be helpful--and protect their carpet--by offering, "I'll get a towel or two for you, Wufei."

The Chinese man nodded gratefully, moving to stand carefully without slipping again.

"Why don't you two go around back?" Duo suggested to the new arrivals, who had stopped staring at Wufei and were now eyeing the slippery front porch. They nodded and headed around to the back door.

As Duo moved toward the back of the house to let them in, he heard Ven's quiet "Uh-oh…" from behind him. He turned and looked at the boy questioningly.

Looking sheepish, Ven explained, "Well, I _thought_ Juuni would follow me in through the back door, so I kind of…"

Duo's eyes widened, and he raced toward the back, shouting, "Tro--!"

*CRASH!*

This crash was followed by the sounds of many rolling objects.

Weary of what he would find this time, Duo opened the back door. First he saw Quatre sprawled in the midst of dozens of marbles strewn all over the porch. He wondered where Trowa had gone until he noticed the unibanged man performing a perfect handstand on the railing between the porch and the lawn.

Duo heard three gasps of awe, and looked back to see the kids had all followed him.

The three were further amazed as the former acrobat then executed a swift double flip in the air to land in the grass, then made his way carefully to his partner.

"Are you okay, love?" Trowa asked.

Quatre groaned and slowly stood. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"I'm sorry, Au--Uncle Quatre," Ven said humbly. (He barely caught his slip, as he'd been teasing Juuni about 'Auntie' Quatre constantly for the past few weeks.)

The blond smiled at the boy. "It's okay, Ven. I'm sure it's only due to Duo's upbringing, anyway."

Duo just gaped at his friend. Was _everything _his kids did his fault? He supposed that when they did things well, it was thanks to Heero influence. He sighed and looked to his youngest. "Thank you, Sifir, for not pulling pranks like your siblings seem to enjoy."

When Sifir smiled up at his father angelically, Ven looked offended. "Hey! It's not that he doesn't pull them, he's just _better _at them than we are!"

Sifir glared at his brother, and Juuni added, "Yeah! Why do you think your conditioner turned your hair green last week?"

Duo's eyes widened, and he silently turned to the boy in question.

"It only lasted a day," Sifir defended himself meekly. Then, when he wasn't reprimanded immediately, he added mischievously, "Besides, it looked cool, and matched Tousan's shirts..."

Quatre laughed, and Trowa smirked. Duo sighed, rolling his eyes. "You're a bunch of imps, all three of you! Come on, let's get inside and see if Uncle Wuffie's done cleaning up yet."

~~~~~~~~

"So, Wu-man, where're the wife and kids today?"

The group was now assembled in the living room. Trowa and Ven sat on the floor playing a video game, X-Men. Trowa, for some reason, always insisted on playing Cyclops. He was currently pummeling Ven's chosen character, Wolverine. [2] The others were scattered in various positions throughout the room. On the couch, Wufei sat on one end, Heero in the middle, and Duo on the other end with his legs sprawled out on his partner's lap. Quatre sat in the recliner nearest Trowa, while Juuni and Sifir sat on the floor by the game players, waiting for their turns.

"Jennifer offered to help Sally get all the kids' school supplies," Wufei answered with a grimace. "They're brave women--taking four girls and a boy shopping with just two people."

Duo grinned at Wufei's acknowledgement that any women could be brave. The grin was then replaced with a look of confusion. "Who's Jennifer?"

Everyone in the room just stared at him. Except Ven, who took advantage of Trowa's distraction and pounded Cyclops into the ground.

"Jennifer White..." Sifir stated as if it were obvious.

"Wh--Dr. White has a first name?" Duo asked, looking around at all the incredulous faces.

"Even I knew that," Trowa stated. "And you and Sifir have known her--Hey!" He suddenly realized that Ven had continued playing. He quickly returned to the game, not wanting to lose another round.

"You didn't know Jennifer's name?" Quatre asked.

"I--She never--"

Heero snorted. "Baka."  
  
"Juuni, Tousan called me a baka," Duo whined.

"That's because you are one," Juuni retorted.

"Thanks for the help," he replied sarcastically. Then he turned to Wufei, an indignant expression on his face. "Hey--you called her Jennifer..."

"Yes..."

"You've known her for two weeks..."  


"You got a point, Maxwell?"

"That!" Duo exclaimed, pointing at the Chinese man. "That's my point! You' known _me _for a _decade _and _I'm _still _Maxwell_!! I have a first name, too, you know!"

Wufei looked stunned for a moment. "Sorry." He paused. "Maxwell."

"Hmmph!" Duo crossed his arms. "I'm feeling unloved."

Suddenly, he felt Heero grab his chin and initiate a passionate kiss. Duo overcame his shock quickly and responded, deepening the kiss.

"_Tou_~san, _Da_~ad!!" Juuni's voice broke them apart. "We've been over this! Parents aren't supposed to kiss!"

As the others started laughing, Heero whispered to Duo, "Still feeling unloved?"

With a suggestive smirk, the braided man replied, "I dunno, maybe you could persuade me more later tonight?"

Heero rolled his eyes, but the hint of a smile indicated that he wasn't entirely opposed to the idea.

"So, what's up with Doc--_Jennifer_, anyway?" Duo asked. "The Preventors cleared her of all charges and everything?"

Wufei nodded. "After she testified against her superiors and others in her organization, and with Sifir's testimony in her own defense," he nodded to the youngest boy sitting on the floor, "They agreed that she will not act against the government or your family again. She's even decided to join the Preventors, since part of the reason she joined that organization was to make changes. She decided she could work for those changes legitimately and avoid the injustices of such radical groups."

Sifir had been listening intently to his Chinese "uncle"'s explanation, and smiled slightly at the end.

Duo smiled upon seeing his son happy, then looked up at Heero. "Oh, yeah, I keep forgetting to ask--how'd you find us, anyway?"

Heero blinked, not replying for a second. If Duo had glanced to his right, he would have seen Juuni eyeing her parents worriedly. "We found a report that the van that had taken you ran a toll not far from you; once we knew the area, we found some of the radicals. They told us where you two were."

Duo eyed his partner suspiciously. There was something about the way he gave that explanation... But he didn't seem like he was _lying_; besides, what reason would he have for doing so?

Suddenly, other suspicious moments in the past few weeks sprang to his mind. Juuni's awkward avoidance of the subject when he'd asked her about whether she'd used the radio he got her. Ven's increased protectiveness of both his siblings, instead of just Sifir as Duo'd expected. The sudden silence when he'd walked into a room to find Heero talking quietly to all three of the kids. Come to think of it, he remembered Quatre cutting himself off before saying something and then Trowa changing the subject rather suspiciously at one point, as well.

"Okay, what are you all hiding from me??" he demanded, meeting the eyes of Heero, Juuni, and Sifir for several moments each. Ven was still playing the game, but turned when he noticed the sudden silence. (Trowa, of course, took this opportunity to turn the tables on his opponent.) Quatre and Wufei watched the confrontation quietly.

"What do you mean, Dad?" Juuni asked innocently.

"I mean the way all of you have been acting really suspicious in the past few weeks. You're hiding something about what happened when Sifir and I were kidnapped, aren't you?"

Heero met his accusing look with a nonchalant gaze for a moment, but then gave in. Sighing, he looked apologetically at Juuni, then back at his partner. "You and Sifir weren't the only ones kidnapped."

"What?" Duo asked quietly, looking at his daughter in concern.

She nodded. "They got me, too, but I, uh, got them to let me go."

"Let you go? I'm assuming they didn't just drive back here and cheerfully drop you off."

Juuni didn't meet her dad's eyes. "No, I annoyed them until they just let me off at the side of the road. I walked back to a gas station and got Tousan to pick me up."

Duo got off the couch and went to hug his daughter tightly, as if to protect her from the danger that had long since passed. He glared at Heero. "Why am I only finding out about this now?" He turned to Sifir. "And you! The entire time we were in there, you knew Juuni was in danger, and you didn't tell me!"

Sifir looked back at his father, pained. "You had enough to worry about at the time."

Duo sighed. It really was useless worrying about something of the past. It made him feel even more sympathy for his youngest son, however, who had to deal with fear for his sister as well as the other stresses of which Duo had been aware.

"So, uh, Dad? If, say, there were other things we hadn't told you, would you want to know?" Juuni asked, still wrapped in her American father's arms.

The braided man froze. "There's more?"

"_Juuni_!" Ven hissed.

The red-haired girl looked at Duo. "Ven had to crawl alone through the vents of the building to let us in so we could rescue you."

Duo gaped at his oldest son, who defensively replied, "Hey, _Tousan_'s the one who had to jump away from the exploding truck!"

"Exploding... truck..." the braided man repeated, now looking at the shrugging Heero.

There was silence for another few seconds, then Duo shouted, "I give up! None of you are ever leaving this house again!"

Another pause, as all but one of the people in the room stared at the severely agitated Duo.

Then Trowa turned around. "So, now whose turn is it to get crushed by Cyclops?"

The gapers now turned to the oblivious Trowa.

"What?"

~~~~~~~~  
owari  
~~~~~~~~

Footnotes:

[1] "Do what you want with the girl, but don't hurt me" is my uncle's favorite phrase, he knows it in several languages. He's funny... :)

[2] In case y'all didn't know, a good ten voice actors from the Gundam Wing dub are also the voices for X-Men: Evolution characters. Trowa's VA, Kirby Morrow, is Cyclops/Scott Summers. (He's also really hot, but that's beside the point... :) ) Duo is Wolverine/Logan. Hey, X2's coming out soon, yay! :)

Co-author Rant: And that's all folks! We're done! Finito! Owarimashita! Wai! Wow. It's like the end of an era. From start to finish, this fic took over a year to complete. That's right, over a year. You guys just got to see the final gasp from rough draft to posting. We never thought this monster would get finished. And we were worried that no one would like the kids. That said, we're extremely happy with the way things turned out. 

I'm glad you guys enjoyed our fic, but stick around cuz we're not through yet! Both of us still have a bunch of solo projects going on and who knows? Maybe another co-authoring deal. 

I hope all you readers out there have a great summer! Good luck on finals! 

It's been a great year. Thanks everyone!

~Tori Sakana


	16. Omake: A Bedtime Story

Okay, yes, we finished this weeks ago. But I forgot to put up this little bit as an omake (extra), so I decided to post it now. :)

I'll also take this time to thank the people who reviewed after we finished: our loyal Sparda and Shichan as always, IchigoPocky, Heero/Duo4Ever (interesting chat, by the way), and Darla_la mosca Tete. Glad you all enjoyed our fic and the kids!! :) ((Hope y'all enjoyed X2, as well... :) )) We don't have anything in the works for a sequel now, but we'll keep it in mind. I am in the middle of another fic, though, "A Change in Routine"--feel free to check it out and review!

Kazoku  
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

~~~~~~~~  
Omake--A Bedtime Story  
~~~~~~~~

Duo: Once upon a time, there was a princess, who wanted peace for everyone, no matter what the cost.

Juuni: But isn't peace good?

Ven: Not if there are bad people in charge ruling people's lives, right, Dad?

Duo: Right. Anyway, a warrior who wanted freedom for the people saw her as a threat, and he decided to kill her.

Juuni: But that's mean!

Ven: Shh, let him tell the story, baka!

Juuni: Ven! Dad, Ven called me baka!

Duo: Ven, apologize to your sister.

Ven: I'm sorry, Juuni. Can Dad continue with the story now?

Duo: So one day the warrior was about to kill the princess, but a handsome young knight came to her rescue and shot him. The warrior survived, and the princess fell in love with…

Juuni: The knight?

Duo: No, the warrior.

Ven: I'm confused.

Duo: So was the warrior. Anyway, the princess followed him around for years, risking being killed time and time again, before she finally realized he didn't love her.

Ven: Because she was a peace freak?

Duo: No, because he was in love with the knight.

Juuni: The one who shot him?

Ven: Now I'm really confused.

Duo: But it turned out the knight loved him, too, and they got together and lived happily ever after. The end.

Ven: That was a stupid story.

Juuni: I thought it was cute… Weird, but cute…

Ven: You would.

Juuni: What's that supposed to mean??

~~~~~~~~  
(really the end)  
~~~~~~~~


End file.
